Keep Your Hopes Up High, And Your Head Down Low
by Supernatural-Browncoat
Summary: High School Alternate Universe. Two new students move to SLHS from across the pond. One of which catches the eye of the school's resident slacker; who happens to be the best friend of the star quarterback.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: A Day To Remember**

_Mondays_. Just the thought of the name of the first day of the school week brought a scowl to Skye's face as she pulled her textbook from her locker. She shoved the book into her ratty old backpack next to her precious laptop. Skye contemplated shoving her arm back into the locker before slamming the door shut, but then thought better of it. It would be much more of a challenge to use her computer with an injured hand; plus, if the nurse had to send her home she would call Skye's foster mom, and that was not someone she wanted to deal with today. Her foster mom hadn't even seen her in three days, and not even a text message had been sent to see where Skye had run off to this time. The only thing Skye disliked about not being at her newest "home sweet home" was that she had someone that would consistently wake her up for school, even when she really didn't want to go.

As all of these thoughts were running through Skye's mind, she failed to notice that she had been staring blankly into her locker for what was nearing a full minute. This occurred to her when someone slammed their shoulder into the locker next to her head before shooting her a snarky smile, "Did you finally find Narnia?"

Skye nearly jumped out of her skin as the tall, muscular guy she called her best friend shocked her out of her daydreams, and effectively woke her up for the second time that day. "You really think you're funny, don't you?" Skye barked at him with a slight smirk twitching at the corners of her mouth, "And to answer your question: if I did, I wouldn't still be standing here, would I Ward?"

Ward ran his hand through his short, black hair as he straightened himself up and shrugged his shoulders, "That is a solid point. I just thought that might be what had kept you so very captivated on the inside of your personal hole in the wall. Unless, of course, you were watching something not school appropriate. In that case, let me see."

Skye chuckled and rolled her eyes as she slammed her locker door shut, almost smashing Ward's hand in the process, "You know, there are some days when I really don't know why I hang out with you."

"It's because you secretly love me." Ward replied while putting on the most charming smile he could muster, "But next time, watch the hand. I need that for Friday."

Skye laughed and laced her hands together in front of her face in a pleading motion, "Oh no, that would be so terrible. I can see the headlines now! 'SLHS Star Quarterback's Season Slammed To A Close!'"

It was Ward's turn to roll his eyes and smirk as he put his hand on Skye's shoulder, "Very clever. Now get to class, you need to get your grade up in your Algebra class."

"How do you know my grades better than I do?"

"Because I actually look at your report cards. You need to get that grade up or there'll be a couple extra weeks added on to your tenure as a sophomore here at lovely Stan Lee High." Ward said, the last part being brought to life in his best Shakespearian accent as he waved his arm not on Skye's shoulder in the air.

Skye almost doubled over in laughter at the terrible impersonation, but continued walking with him, "Well, I guess we've reached prison cell number one for the day."

Ward grabbed both her shoulders, spinning her to look at him, "I was serious Skye. Get the math grade up unless you want to get put in summer school, or have the phone call made home." The last phrase of the statement being said with a look of sad knowing in his dark eyes, as he looked into her eyes, "Pay attention and don't get kicked out today. You know how, Mr. Sitwell is."

"Alright," Skye sighed out in false exasperation with a smile on her face, "I'll try my best."

Ward patted her on the shoulder then gave the crown of her head a quick kiss before running off, yelling at a wide receiver on the football team to wait up. Skye briefly considered just walking back to her locker then leaving school, but then remembered the Ward's face when he had looked at her. It was a look of caring, something Skye never tired of seeing. She ruffled her hair where Ward had kissed her before walking into the classroom they had stopped at right as the bell rang.

She walked to her usual seat in the back of the room and slouched down into the chair. Her head turned from side to side, observing the people around her, who were all oblivious to her presence. They were all too engrossed in their own conversations with their friends to even notice that the bell had rung to signify the start of class. Skye tried to keep herself from rolling her eyes at the people surrounding her; she didn't like any of them. They were all too arrogant or stupid for her to get along with. Judgmental was another thing she would call them, on a long list of adjectives that weren't exactly appropriate to a school setting. All Skye could think about was Scar from _The Lion King_ with his face in his paw muttering, "I'm surrounded by idiots." That brought a smile to her face as she brushed the hair out of her eyes and settled down into her seat while Mr. Sitwell began to get everyone's attention.

An hour later, which seemed like an eternity to Skye, her Algebra class ended and she found herself headed back to her locker. She was already tired and bored with school for the day, and was seriously considering skipping out on the rest of her classes. That is, until she turned the corner to the hallway that held her school appointed storage space and saw someone digging through her now open locker. Skye would normally beat the intruder with the overly large (at least in her opinion) math book she had in her backpack, but she recognized the form of the only person she really considered a friend. "Grant Ward, I should hurt you for this." She stated as she punched him in the arm.

"Just making sure you didn't have anything you shouldn't in here." Ward said as he pulled his head out of her locker, "And you should cool it with the Grant thing. No one actually calls me that."

"I guess that just means I'm special." Skye replied with raised eyebrows as she threw the math textbook past her friend into the locker.

She began digging in the mess that was inside her locker, trying to find the book for her next class. Her anger was beginning to show on her face as she heard a snicker behind her. Furrowing her brow, Skye turned to see Ward holding the book in his hand with a sly grin on his face. "You are such a loser, Grant." Emphasizing his name and watching his face drop to a look of disparagement. That brought a beaming smile to her face, "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Making sure you don't try to skip town on me. I didn't want you to think that I was going to let you off with just the warning I gave you earlier."

Ward leaned up against the locker next to Skye's the same way he did that morning, only more quietly, as she continued to push books into her bag. He made sure to check if she had paid attention in her first class, not taking her first answer as gospel. The question had been raised four more times before Skye looked him in the eyes and promised him that she had done exactly that. When Ward ducked his head, laughing at her frustration with him, Skye took a look over his shoulder. "Ward." She stated quickly and quietly.

"What?" He replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Dibs." Skye said looking into his eyes to make sure he had heard her, "I call dibs."

A look of confusion passed over his face before he saw that her eyes had redirected back to over his shoulder. He stood up and turned around quickly to see what, or rather who, had caught Skye's attention so raptly. A smile jumped onto his face, then quickly left as the realization hit him. "Skye, that's not fair, I didn't even have a chance."

"I don't care. I called dibs, you can't deny it."

"That's right, even I heard her." A voice said from behind Skye, causing both her and Ward to spin around.

"Come on Tripp! You're taking her side?" Ward yelled at his teammate.

"Hey man, you have to respect the dibs." Tripp replied, as he laughed.

"I'm beginning to like him, Ward." Skye said as she gave Tripp a smile.

"Yeah, yeah. Tripp, let's see how many passes you get thrown Friday." Ward replied, looking wistfully over his shoulder.

What had caught both Ward and Skye's attention was the two, obviously, new kids in school. They were obviously new because, well, Ward didn't know them, and by extension, neither did Skye. Being the star of the football team didn't stop Ward from being a good guy and getting to know everybody, which is why Skye knew she had to call this when she did. One of the newcomers was a thin boy, with short, curly brown hair. He had on an un-tucked dress shirt with a tie over his jeans, and his sneakers were not smudged in the least bit. He had his messenger bag over his shoulder as he used his hands to help while he talked to his companion.

This companion of his was who had grasped Skye's attention so quickly. She was slightly shorter than her friend, with long dark, almost red, hair. She was as dressed up as her compatriot, wearing a shirt and tie under her sweater along with her jeans and Converse. The straps of her backpack were tightly wrapped around her shoulders as she walked down the hall listening to her excited friend, looking both intrigued and disapproving. "I wonder who she is." Skye muttered under her breath, fear flashing across her face, along with a rising blush, when she realized that she had said it out loud.

"Well, there's one way to find out." Ward said as he pulled one strap of his backpack over his shoulder and began to walk towards the new students.

Skye grabbed his arm and spun him back around, "No, no, no. I am not just walking up on her like that. Not like this." Skye looked down at herself and noted that her face felt hot from the lingering blush that had spread across her cheeks.

Ward checked his watch and said, "You're right, you aren't going to walk up on her. You are going to go to class, which is on the other side of the building in two minutes. Thankfully, Tripp has class right next door, so he can make sure you actually go."

"Wait. Then what was all that about? Just trying to scare me?" Skye asked, confused by Ward's statement.

Ward just gave her a big smile, that reminded Skye too much of the Cheshire Cat to feel comfortable with it, then said, "You are going to class because you need to pull your grades up some, I'm going to be the welcoming committee for our new friends."

Skye's eyes widened in what can only be described as pure terror, "Ward! You can't do this. I called dibs! And now your going to embarrass me, aren't you?"

Ward raised an eyebrow and replied, "Now would I do that to you?"

Before she could answer, Ward turned around and Tripp patted Skye on the shoulder then led her toward her next class. What came next was what felt like the longest three hours of Skye's life. The next time she got a break was lunch and, thankfully, Ward would be there too so she could beat the living daylight out of him. She went through the line to get her food, or the slop they called food she thought, and walked towards her and Ward's usual table. Skye was the first one there so she began to slowly choke down the slime that was labeled spaghetti. Her mind wandered to the classes of the day and how much she hated this place. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before raising her drink to her lips. As she did this, a lunch trap was dropped onto the table across from her. "Be careful there, Skye. You don't want to wear your milk." A smirking Ward said as he sat down in front of her.

"I should make you wear it and beat the—" Skye said between coughs before she noticed Ward's grin spreading even farther across his face, "What is so funny?"

It was just then she heard someone clear their throat behind her. Skye spun around as fast as she could and her jaw dropped when she saw who was standing behind her. The eyes of the two newcomers to the school were pointed directly at her. The boy had an eyebrow raised and a slight grin, but the girl had a brilliant smile stretched across her face, one that Skye thought may have brightened up the entire room. Skye turned back towards Ward as the blush crept up her neck to her cheeks. If looks could kill, Ward would have dropped immediately, but instead his eyes showed that he thought this was the funniest thing he had seen in a long time. Ward propped his head up on a hand, "Skye, I invited the new kids to join us for lunch today. This is Fitz and Simmons."

"Hey." Skye muttered quietly.

Fitz and Simmons sat down, Fitz next to Ward and Simmons across from Fitz. That placed Simmons right next to Skye, which elicited a small smirk from Ward. Skye shot him another look that threatened to bury him before nearly jumping out of her seat when she heard the voice of Simmons next to her ear, "Thank you for inviting us to sit here. I was worried we wouldn't quite fit in here."

"It's no problem. I like to at least know most people's name here." Ward replied, still with the grin that was causing Skye to want to knock his teeth down his throat.

"Simmons was really worried about not finding people to talk to here. I was just more concerned about not getting tossed in a locker." Fitz said mindlessly as he fiddled with an app on his phone.

"Have some experience with that, do you?" Ward asked as the smile fell from his face.

"We ran into some very—" Simmons began, with her smooth accent that was causing a shiver to run down Skye's spine, before Fitz finished her sentence.

"Aggressive and impolite members of a rugby team."

"Well, no need to worry about that here." Ward stated firmly, the movie star smile reaching his face again, "I'll see to it that no one tries anything."

"Well thank you, but you don't have to go out of your way for us. It's really not a big deal." Simmons said with a small, thankful smile.

"Two words from Ward here and you could be prom queen. Keeping assholes from pushing you in a locker isn't exactly a challenge for him." Skye mumbled, her eyes widening after realizing she had said it out loud.

"Thanks for joining us, Skye. Have a fun time in dreamland?" Ward teased as he reached across and patted her on the head, "But as much as she exaggerated there, I do have a bit of pull around school. I'll be sure to see that no one messes with you too much."

Skye snarled at Ward and swatted his hand away from her head, before becoming extremely interested in the red stains of sauce left on the tray in front of her. "How does one come about such pull in a school like this?" Simmons asked as she leaned towards Ward.

"It mostly comes from being the starting quarterback for three straight years, and the team making the state championship last year." Ward said as if it was something everyone did, and then checked the watch on his wrist, "But I'll catch up with you guys later, I have a class to get to. Skye, you want to come with? I know you'd hate to miss that computer class you have."

Skye tugged her bag onto her shoulder and began to stand up when the dulcet tones of Simmons' voice interrupted her, "With Mr. Stark? That's the one I'm in."

Skye and Ward looked at each other; Ward with raised eyebrows and a smirk, Skye with a look of pure fear in her wide eyes. "Really now? Maybe Skye can show you where it is."

Simmons stood from the table and bounced to the balls of her feet, "That would be fantastic!"

Simmons' bubbly voice echoed in Skye's head as she gave Ward yet another death glare before muttering, "Alright, follow me."

Ward caught Skye and hugged her before she could walk away. As he hugged her he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "You're welcome."

Skye responded by elbowing him in the ribs then walking towards the door, followed closely by Simmons. Simmons caught up to Skye and noticed that Skye had her hands clenched into fists. She put her hand on the dark-haired girl's shoulder and softly spoke, "Does he get on your nerves a lot?"

Skye tensed up immediately when Simmons touched her, but then relaxed when she heard the shorter girl's voice. She took a deep breath and relaxed her hands, "Yeah. I think his goal every day is to hit my last nerve."

"Then, if you don't mind my asking, why do you spend so much time with him?"

Skye came to a halt in the middle of the hallway and looked at Simmons. Simmons' hazel eyes shown brightly and drew Skye almost into a trance. Skye felt like she was going to spill out her entire history to this girl she had just met. She was just going to let all her memories of the bullying and abusive homes and places she just never fit in at flow into the open. She stopped herself after opening her mouth for a moment and replied succinctly, "He's been there for me whenever I needed him."

The heaviness of the statement was not lost on Simmons, and she removed her hand from Skye's shoulder and they continued walking. The rest of the trip to the classroom was made in silence. When the pair reached the classroom, Skye immediately headed to her seat in the middle of the room. This was the only class she actually enjoyed, and so it was the only class she didn't sit in the back corner. Simmons, not knowing anybody else in the room, chose to sit in the seat next to Skye. _Oh great_, Skye thought, _how am I supposed to concentrate when I can see her right there and smell that perfume?_ Skye hadn't realized she closed her eyes and breathed deeply in through her nose while she was thinking this. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she tried to decipher what smell Simmons' perfume was, _maybe lilac_ she thought. "Are you alright, Skye?"

Skye jumped in her chair and almost fell right out of it as she heard Simmons' voice. She was really tired of zoning out and this girl scaring her. Skye had called dibs so she was trying to make a good impression, but this wasn't exactly helping her. It wasn't until she had righted herself on her chair that she realized Simmons' hand was at Skye's elbow, having reached out to try and help her not fall off the chair. A blush creeped it's way up Skye's neck to her cheeks as she looked down and saw Simmons touching her, "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry. My mind was just wandering. A million miles away, you know."

Skye was rambling and she felt stupid and embarrassed, but when she looked up Simmons was just smiling at her kindly. It sent butterflies through Skye's stomach, and she hated it. She couldn't figure out why this girl affected her so much and they had only met that day. "It's completely fine. Ward says you do that quite often." Simmons eyes went wide when she realized how that sounded out loud, "Not that there's anything wrong with that or anything."

Skye could only laugh and shake her head, "He's right. I do actually do that a lot."

It wasn't until this moment that both girls realized that Simmons' hand was still on Skye's arm. They looked down almost simultaneously and saw that. Both Skye and Simmons almost jumped backwards. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was still doing that." Simmons almost whispered as she crossed her arms across her chest.

Skye couldn't help but notice that Simmons was sitting ramrod straight, even as embarrassed as she seemed. She also couldn't help but observe Simmons' clothes more closely than she did from across the hallway this morning. Simmons' sweater was a dark pink overtop the white collared shirt and bright pink tie she was wearing. Her jeans fit her legs well all the way down and her red Converse shoes rounded out the strangely stylish ensemble. Skye's looked at herself and felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her. She was slouching too much for it to be healthy on her back, her loose fitting t-shirt looked very worn, her jeans were starting to get holes at some points, and her old tennis shoes were beginning to split at the sole. Skye just turned toward the computer in front of her and stared at the screen, hoping the glow of the computer would cover the glow that her blush was giving off.

Skye skipped the rest of her classes that day. After her computer class she through most of her stuff in her locker, thankful that Ward wasn't there to stop her, and went out toward the football field. She would sit there on her laptop until Ward got out of practice to drive her home. Skye found a bit of shade under the bleachers on one side of the field and engrossed herself in whatever she could find on the Internet that amused her. The sound of footsteps approaching fell on deaf ears, as she was entranced in the numbers flying across her screen. It wasn't until the shadow fell across her screen that she realized someone was standing over her. She raised her eyes from the screen to see Ward standing above her with a frown on his face. She checked the time on her computer, school had just gotten out. "Don't you have practice to go to?"

"Coach cancelled it today." Ward replied, deadpan, "Didn't you have classes to go to today?"

"I went."

Ward raised an eyebrow at her and she felt like she was shrinking into the ground, "Well, I went to most of them."

Skye tried to give Ward a lopsided grin, but it didn't come across very convincingly. He sighed and reached his hand down to her to help her up off the ground. She took his hand and let him pull her up then threw her backpack over her shoulder. The walk to Ward's car was silent except for the sound of their feet on the pavement. Once they reached the car, they both climbed in, but Ward didn't start the vehicle. Skye smirked and said, "Um, Ward. I may not have my license, but I think you're supposed to put the key in the ignition and turn."

"Skye. You can't just keep skipping your classes like this. You promised me you would try." Ward said as he turned in his seat to look at Skye, the sadness in his eyes very obvious.

Skye's face fell and she couldn't look Ward in the eyes. She took a couple deep breaths before looking back up at him and apologizing, "I'm sorry, Ward. I—I really was going to go to all of them. I just couldn't do it today. I couldn't deal with everyone today."

Ward noticed the last part of this was said while she was playing with one of the holes forming in her jeans. Skye was quiet and wouldn't look at him and just kept tugging on the bottom of her shirt. He put his arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him, "What's this all about, Skye?"

Skye opened her mouth, and then quickly shut it before shrugging off his arm and sitting up. He knew better than to push her when she was in this kind of mood, he had to explain the black eye to everyone he saw for a week the last time he tried. Instead of arguing, Ward just started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. It wasn't until they got out onto the road that Skye spoke up, "I'll take back the dibs."

"What?" Ward asked, legitimately confused by Skye's statement.

"I'll take back the dibs. You go for her."

"Go for her? Oh!" Ward exclaimed, finally understanding what Skye meant, "Why would you do that? You were so excited you beat me on this one."

"I don't think I'm really her type. And—" Skye cut herself off as she played with the edge of her shirt again, "And it's not like I would actually ask or anything. You should take a shot."

"What's gotten into you? You were all into her earlier, and then when you actually meet her, and she's a sweet girl, you just drop off like this? I know you're shy and all that, but this is a new level. And what do you mean you aren't her type?"

"I just don't think she's into me, is all. I don't even know if she's into girls. She's just all pretty and British and fancy." Skye accented all this by pulling at loose strings coming off her jeans.

By this time they had reached Ward's house and he pulled into the driveway and turned the car off. He turned towards Skye and tried to get her to look at him, "Skye. What's this really about?"

"I told you. It's just that—"

"That's bull. I know it as well as you. Now come on, tell me." Ward interrupted her then put his hands on her shoulders and turned her towards him.

Skye looked up at Ward with tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head. She refused to let herself cry, especially over something like this. "I just," Skye stumbled over her words, "I just don't want her to think I'm the stray little puppy everyone else thinks I am. Everyone looks at me and just sees the little girl in the old, torn up clothes hiding behind you."

Skye finally let the tears roll down her cheeks and Ward held her against his chest. They sat in this position for a couple minutes before Ward pulled her back from him and looked her in the face. He waited for Skye to bring her eyes up to his and said, "Skye, you are not some little stray dog. You are a smart, charming, and, don't get a big head here, beautiful girl." Skye laughed at the last comment, "And whoever says anything else can deal with me."

"Thanks, Ward." Skye mumbled.

"But since when have you cared about your clothes?"

Skye laughed, "Um, since about noon today, I guess."

"Why would you suddenly care now?" Ward asked, extremely puzzled, before a flash of understanding reached his face, "This is about Simmons, isn't it? It's because how she was dressed?"

Ward lightly chuckled and Skye smacked him on the chest, "Don't laugh at me. She was all dressed up and proper, sitting up all straight. She's like the exact opposite of me. Give her a week and she'll forget about me. Keeping hanging out with that boyfriend of hers, Fitz."

That comment brought Ward to tears, from laughing that is. Skye entered a state of confusion instantaneously, "What is so funny, Ward?"

"Fitz and Simmons are not dating. I asked Fitz about that and he looked at me like I asked him if he liked making out with his dog. They are definitely not together."

That caused a small grin to spread across Skye's face, though she didn't think that comparing Simmons to a dog was funny at all, "You are such a jerk, you know that?"

"If I was such a jerk, then would I have also asked Fitz about her availability?" Ward asked slyly as he got out of the car and began walking to the house.

Skye jumped out of the car and chased after Ward screaming his name. She finally reached him and tackled him just as he got inside the door. "Hey you two don't break anything in here!" A female voice came from around the corner.

"Sorry Mom!" Ward yelled back.

"Sorry Mrs. Ward! Your son is just being a jerk to me!" Skye yelled as she stuck her tongue out at Ward.

"Now Grant, what are you doing to torture Skye this time?"

"Nothing! Skye's just being a baby because she has a crush on the new kid." Ward replied with his tongue shooting out at Skye.

"Ward!" Skye roared as she dove at him and tried to tackle him to the ground again.

This attempt was not as effective as the first one, because Ward knew what was coming. He was able to catch her mid-dive and put her over his shoulder. Ward carried Skye, as she flailed and yelled at him, into the kitchen where he found his mother at the sink. He put Skye down next to the kitchen table, which earned him a punch in the stomach, and then walked over to give his mom a kiss on the cheek. "So, who is this new girl you mentioned, Grant?" Mrs. Ward asked shooting a smiling glance to Skye.

"She goes by Simmons, and she's a cute little British girl." Ward replied with a teasing smile on his face and his eyes lit up.

"Simmons? That sounds like a last name. Skye, dear, did you catch her first name?"

Skye froze and frowned because she had never even thought about it, "Um, no. I guess I didn't."

"Well, I did." Ward smiled, "Her name is Jemma Simmons."

"Jemma." Skye whispered to herself, enjoying the way it rolled off her tongue.

The bright smile slowly stretching across Skye's face was not missed by Ward, though he decided to let it slide. Instead, he decided he was going to bring up something else, "Yeah, but she dresses a little too fancy for my taste. She definitely has a certain fashion sense about her. Well, so Skye says. I didn't really notice"

Skye's face went as red as she could even imagine. She stood up from the table she had taken a seat at and went to walk away. She was stopped in her tracks when something caught Mrs. Ward's eye, "Skye. What happened to your shoe?"

Skye looked down at her feet and saw that the slight tear near the sole of her left shoe had stretched to the point that her foot could almost slide out. "Dang. I liked these shoes." Skye whined.

"It's okay, darling. Later today we can go out shopping and get you some new ones. Plus, if you want," Mrs. Ward said with a wink, "we could get you some new outfits to impress this new girl."

Skye's mouth went dry. She mumbled for a moment before finally forming words, "You don't have to do that. It's fine."

"Nonsense." Ward took an opportunity to jump back into the conversation, "Mom loves shopping, and with me as her only kid she didn't exactly have a lot of chances for that."

"Grant's right. Well, mostly at least." Mrs. Ward said as she walked over to Skye and hugged her, "I like to think I have two children now."

Skye's blush that had not dropped since she entered the house burned even brighter. Ward was grinning after his mom left the room, even after dealing with a barrage of punches from Skye. He just laughed and said, "I'm not all bad to you, you know. So I did quiz Fitz a little about Simmons."

Skye cocked an eyebrow at him and clenched her fists. Ward was plagued by another fit of laughter and just smiled at Skye as she followed him to the stairs leading to the basement. She was sliding off her now torn shoes when Ward stopped his trip downstairs to turn towards her, "I asked him about the chances of a relationship and he told me 'fat chance'. He said she's really into her studies, so doesn't usually bother with stuff like that." Skye's shoulders unconsciously slumped upon hearing this, "But, he may have mentioned something about a relationship last year and he may have used the word 'girlfriend'."

And with that he was down the stairs, leaving Skye to process his words. When it clicked with her what word had said, her smile was ear to ear as she bounced on the balls of her feet then actually made a small jump. She planned to find a way to force Fitz's exact words out of Ward later, but for now she only had one thought in her mind. _I actually have a chance!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Will You Even Look Back When You Think of Me?**

Ward's basement was Skye's hideaway. His house is where she ran away to when whatever foster home she was in became too much for her to deal with, and at this point the basement was allocated to her. She slept down there, she kept her laptop down there, and her and Ward hung out most of the time down there. The Ward family had a pool table in their basement, along with a skee-ball game, like you find in arcades. These were behind the couch that sat in front of the television; the couch being where Ward found himself sitting right before Skye pounced on him.

Ward was leaned back into the couch with his eyes closed and a proud grin on his face. He found that teasing Skye like he was today brought him way more joy than it really should. It was all in good fun, and he'd eventually spill all the details he could get his hands on, but for now it was nice to see the frustration and embarrassment on Skye's face. His train of thought was utterly derailed when Skye jumped over the back of the couch and knocked him to the ground.

Ward landed on his stomach with his hands above his head and Skye on his back. The younger girl sat up and straddled his midsection before punching him in the shoulder. Skye leaned down over him and sing-songed a question to him, "So, what did you and Fitz talk about today?"

Ward moved his hands under his head and sang back, "Oh, nothing really. Just getting to know the new kid."

Skye punched him again as Ward laughed, "You think you're really funny, don't you?"

Ward kicked his feet up and lightly kicked Skye in the back as he did his best to look up at her with a Cheshire grin, "I think I'm adorable. But flattery will get you nowhere, little girl."

Skye could get angry at Ward, not just for holding out information but also for calling her "little girl", but she knew something about him that no one else did. She looked directly into Ward's eyes with a smirk and began to stretch her fingers. The realization of what was going through Skye's mind hit Ward like a ton of bricks. "Oh no you don't!" he shouted as he tried to roll over.

His reaction was too late, however, as Skye reached down to his sides and found Ward's one glaring weakness. Grant Ward, six foot-two inch star quarterback for the Stan Lee High School Shields, was ticklish. Ward tried to hold back the laughter as he fought to throw Skye off him, but to no avail. Between Ward's attempts to roll over, and overtop his fits of laughter, Skye was screaming at him to tell her what he knew.

This scuffle lasted for a few minutes, ending when Mrs. Ward shouted down the stairs for the two of them to be quiet. Ward and Skye glared at each other for a moment before climbing back onto the couch. The room was silent for only a minute before Skye went back to questioning Ward over his conversation with Fitz, finally just stating, "You're going to tell me what he said."

"Oh really now? I am?" Ward replied, raising an eyebrow at Skye.

"Yeah, you are." Skye said, putting on the best puppy dog face she could, "Because you love me and you don't want me to worry any more."

Ward just laughed and shook his head, "You know that face doesn't work on me Skye, why do you even try anymore?"

She crawled over to him and laid her head in his lap, looking up at him with wide eyes and a pout on her face, "Please, Grant?"

Ward could barely contain his laughter before pushing Skye off the couch. Skye rolled off the couch and screamed as she fell to the ground. She sat up quickly and shot Ward a look that could kill then jumped back onto the couch next to him. She sat facing Ward and smacked her hands onto her thighs, "I'm not going to beg Ward, but please?"

Ward let himself actually laugh at how she dragged out the word please, but grabbed her hand and acquiesced to her request. He sat up straight and took a deep breath, wasting as much time as he could solely because he knew it would annoy Skye. She smacked his arm and when he looked over at her, he saw something that looked almost like desperation in her eyes. Ward felt his heart soften when he saw that look and decided to stop torturing her, "Fitz didn't say much, just that he's from Glasgow originally then moved to Sheffield a couple years ago. He met Simmons there and they became friends because they're the only ones that can keep up with each other. They came here as part of a college thing and so they will be spending the rest of their high school time at Stan Lee."

Skye looked off into the distance for a moment before nodding her head, "Okay, so what did he say about Simmons particularly?"

Ward scratched his head, "He said she's probably the smarter of the two, but only because she likes homework more than life itself." Skye laughed at this. "She's apparently going into biochemistry, and he's going to be an engineer. He also mentioned that she may have been in a relationship last year, but he's not sure."

"Not sure?" Skye asked with a look that said she was utterly confused.

"I was wondering how he couldn't know and he said that Simmons and this girl were hanging out a lot and seemed to have feelings for each other, but he was never told anything."

Skye sat thoughtfully for a little while, just looking down at her lap. Ward sat next to her, quietly observing, before she made a move. She sat up straight and looked Ward in the eyes, "Be honest with me, Grant."

"About what?" Ward was put a little off guard seeing as he was pretty sure this was the only time she had used his first name without making fun of him.

"Do you think," Skye started before looking down and taking a quick breath, "Do you think she would ever be interested in me?"

Ward smiled and wrapped his arm around Skye's shoulders, "I think she'd be stupid not to."

Skye leaned into him and smiled as she snuggled up under his shoulder. Ward turned the TV on and they sat and surfed the channels while the smell of pork chops wafted through the house. There wasn't anything that interested them on TV, but that didn't really matter because there was quickly a challenge thrown at Ward, "I bet I can beat you at eight-ball."

"In your dreams. I crushed you last time." Ward says as he pushes Skye away and jumps over the couch towards the pool table.

Skye follows close behind and grabs the pool cues as he racked up the pool balls. "So what are we playing for?" Ward asked.

"I don't know. What do you got?" Skye replied, a mischievous grin on her face.

An evil grin crossed Ward's face as an even more evil thought ran through his head. "We could always play for dibs." He said with a wink.

Skye's jaw dropped open and her eyes went wide. She gasped for words but couldn't seem to form an intelligible phrase. "Skye. I was just kidding. We won't—"

"Let's do it." Skye cut him off with a steely voice.

"What?" Ward couldn't believe his ears, "I was not serious, Skye."

"Let's play. Winner gets dibs on Simmons." Skye looked Ward in the eyes.

He couldn't read her expression, but he could tell she wasn't going to back off on this, "Alright, they're racked up. You wanna break?"

Skye walked around the table and took the opening shot, one that did not pan out well for her. Ward carefully stepped around to get the right angle on his shot before Skye spoke up, seemingly reading his mind, "Don't even think about taking it easy on me."

Ward closed his eyes and tightened his lips. He bent over the table to take his shot but paused and stood back up, "What's this about Skye?"

"You offered it up, I took it. That's it. Now play." Skye said, almost too forcefully for Ward to believe her.

The game seemed to go back and forth for a few minutes until Ward started to gain an advantage. When he saw how the game was going, he chanced a sneaky look at Skye. She was biting her lip and shaking her leg. The look in her eyes was caught somewhere between relief and sadness. Ward blinked as he realized why she was doing this, but shook the thought clear of his head. As he took his shot, Mrs. Ward shouted down at them, "Come on up guys! Dinner's ready!"

Ward's shot went just off target and bounced around before settling harmlessly on the side of the table. He let go of a breath he didn't even know he was holding as he stood up. The same look was in Skye's eyes as before and he said, "Let's just call it a draw."

"So, what does that mean for the dibs?" Skye almost whispered across the table to him.

Ward shrugged his shoulders and set the pool cue down, "I guess it stays where it is." He walked by and patted her on the shoulder.

Skye followed Ward up the stairs and to the kitchen, where they sat down at the table while Mrs. Ward set plates in front of them. The meal was quiet, even after Mrs. Ward joined them, but it was a silence that could barely be considered awkward. Grant finished his food quickly and dropped his plate into the sink, saying over his shoulder that he was going to drive up to the football field to meet with Tripp and some of the other players. His mother told him to be safe as she cleaned her plate up from the table and looked at Skye. "Are you okay, honey?"

Skye looked up from the plate she had only cleared about half of, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Mrs. Ward picked up Skye's plate and began the cleaning process. Skye began to leave but then, right before exiting the room, spun on her heels and stood contemplating for a moment. "Carrie?" Skye muttered, using Mrs. Ward's first name for almost the first time ever.

"Yes, dear?" Mrs. Ward said as she turned around and smiled at Skye.

"Were you serious about taking me out shopping for shoes?" Here Skye paused for a moment, "And for the other stuff too?"

Mrs. Ward beamed at her, as Skye looked up at her hopefully, "Of course I was. If you want to go, I'd love to. Just give me a minute to finish cleaning up."

Skye smiled up at Mrs. Ward and ran to go find her bag in the basement with her other pair of shoes.

Skye had slid on the old, beat up pair of shoes before realizing what they were and smiling. She was putting on her old pair of gray Converse shoes that, amazingly, still fit. All she could think about were the bright red Converse that Simmons had been wearing that day. It took a few moments of this thought process before Skye knew what she was doing. Even in the basement all by herself she began to blush. As she felt the heat rise to her cheeks she shook her head and wondered how this girl was affecting her this way. She had literally had one actual conversation with Simmons, and didn't even know her first name until Ward told her later, but Simmons was invading almost every thought she had. It wasn't until Mrs. Ward called down to her, asking if she was ready to go, that she realized that she had been sitting thinking for a while. She replied in the positive and ran up the stairs.

Malls make Skye uncomfortable. She has never been a fan of crowds or shopping for that matter, and these buildings just combined the two. Malls also contained the people from school, nearly all of which she would rather avoid. Skye even wants to avoid the people she likes today. She can't quite put her finger on why she's feeling extra anti-social. That is, until she gets into the mall and actually runs into the last person she wanted to bump into.

Mrs. Ward and Skye had already found a brightly colored pair of running shoes that Skye liked, and now onto the hard part. Skye had no idea what was in fashion, or what was cool; she just knew that her clothes were comfortable. Her fear must have been obvious when her and Mrs. Ward walked into the store, because Mrs. Ward just chuckled at her. "You're not really into clothes shopping are you?"

"Not at all. I just wear what's comfy." Skye whispered as she struggled to take in her surroundings.

Mrs. Ward just laughed again and put her hand on Skye's shoulder, "I'm sure we can find something that's comfy, and can impress your new friend."

Skye felt herself blush at the very mention of Simmons' existence and the true reasoning behind this trip. The next hour was a blur in Skye's mind. Colors flashed before her eyes, fabrics blended together against her skin, and she still had no idea what she was looking for. Skye pulled a bright blue and white plaid shirt over her shoulders and buttoned it up. _What am I even doing,_ she questioned as she shook her head at her reflection in the mirror. Skye stepped out of the dressing room and saw Mrs. Ward facing the opposite direction and talking on her phone. From the sound of it, Mr. Ward would be late getting home from work, so Skye wasn't going to even try to interrupt that conversation. She was trying to decide whether to wait for Mrs. Ward to turn around or just go back into the dressing room when someone's shoulder ran against her own. "Oh, I am so sorry!"

Skye had her eyes closed, but she recognized that voice immediately. There weren't that many girls in this town with a British accent, in fact, Skye could only think of one. Her eyes shot open and she stumbled trying to form a sentence, "No, it's—it's okay—no big deal."

Suddenly there was the same brilliant smile Skye had seen earlier that very day, and her awe of the feature had not dimmed in the slightest. Simmons was standing in front of her, that smile gracing her face, and holding a small stack of pants in her arms. "Oh, Skye, how serendipitous it is seeing you here."

Skye just eyed the collection of jeans and dress pants in the arms of the other girl. _Serendipitous? Is this girl even real?_ Skye's hands flexed as she thought this and she just quietly replied, "Yeah, what do you know?"

"Are you trying on this shirt?"

"What?" The question caught Skye by surprise, "Oh, this. Um, yeah."

Skye bit her lip before she could blurt out something stupid. Simmons just smiled and adjusted the clothes in her arms so that she could pull at Skye's sleeve, "It looks really good on you. I'd suggest a size smaller though, it's a little baggy."

Skye could feel a slight heat on her neck and knew that she would start blushing if she wasn't careful. She just looked down at her feet and offered a thanks. The pair stood in a momentary silence before Skye's thoughts began to flow out her mouth, "I was looking at some other stuff, but I'm no good at fashion and stuff and maybe you could take a look and help me out." Skye froze after she realized what happened and attempted to do damage control, "I mean, if you want, you don't have to. It's just that you seem to have a really good eye for this kind of thing and I really don't."

Skye clenched her hands and eyes shut. _So much for damage control, that just made it worse_, she thought when she realized how quickly she had let all that fly. But, despite her worries, Simmons just beamed even brighter than before and was possibly a shade of pink she hadn't quite been before. "I'd be happy to help Skye. I'm not sure I'd consider myself to have an eye for fashion, but I'll look with you."

Skye smiled and looked Simmons in the face for the first time this conversation. She walked back over to the dressing room, with Simmons right on her heels, and began to display some of the various shirts and jackets she had picked out. The two discussed the clothes and divided them into separate piles, Simmons decided that Skye picked everything at least a size too large. They began to collect the clothes that they had found acceptable and went to find them in a smaller size. Up until Skye stepped back out of the dressing room, she had all but forgotten that Mrs. Ward was even in the mall. When the two high schoolers walked back into the main section of the store, Mrs. Ward called for Skye. Skye nearly dropped the clothes she held in her hands in surprise. Mrs. Ward walked toward Skye and Simmons and when she saw that Skye was not alone a grin spread across her face. "Skye, I see you found a friend to help you out while I was busy."

"Yeah, I did." Skye bounced awkwardly from foot to foot, "Um, Mrs. Ward, this is Simmons. Simmons, this is Mrs. Ward."

Skye had carried all her clothes, so Simmons just had the pants and such she was carrying earlier, which she could easily adjust to give herself the ability to shake Mrs. Ward's hand. "Mrs. Ward? You would be, um, Grant Ward's mother?"

"I am. And this is the Simmons I heard about today?" Mrs. Ward spared a short glance to Skye.

"The Simmons?" Simmons squeaked out as a blush appeared on her cheeks.

"Ward mentioned you and Fitz earlier. It's not like we get a bunch of new kids around here." Skye quickly explained before clenching her jaw and raising her eyebrows at Mrs. Ward.

"Yes, my Grant was excited to see new faces. I'm sure he's hoping to see you and your friend at the game on Friday." Mrs. Ward focused on Simmons with a smile.

"Yes, the football game. Well, American football. He mentioned that he played. But I'm afraid Fitz and I don't really understand American football." Simmons seemed excited to be talking about any topic other than her.

"Yeah, he's practicing right now. But, not knowing isn't a big deal, I'm sure Skye could show you the ropes. Actually, Grant might be home by now. Skye, why don't we head back?" Mrs. Ward asked as she checked her watch.

"Um, okay." Skye responded quietly, while looking at the floor. She didn't want to stay in the mall and give herself, or Mrs. Ward, the chance to embarrass herself any more, but she also wasn't exactly ready to stop being able to see Simmons' face yet.

"Yes, I should be going as well. It was nice to meet you Mrs. Ward, and good to see you Skye. I'll see you tomorrow in class. Goodbye." Simmons smiled as she turned around and walked off without a glance back at Skye and Mrs. Ward.

After Simmons had taken the corner, Skye looked up at Mrs. Ward, who was smiling down at Skye, "She's a cutie."

Skye had lost count of how many times she had blushed today, but the tally kept adding up. Skye muttered something about getting different sizes for the clothes and walked over to the clothes racks. She replaced her oversized clothes and walked to the register with Mrs. Ward. The walk and car ride back were silent, except for the radio that Mrs. Ward had turned on to a Top 40 station, while Skye tried to get the blush that was still lightly lingering on her face to go away.

They arrived back at the Wards' house and Skye quickly took the bags they got at the mall to the basement. Skye really just wanted a second by herself to take a deep breath and let her embarrassment finally settle down. That's exactly what she did when she reached the bottom of the stairs and threw the bags into the corner. As she exhaled a small smile crossed her face, but was immediately replaced with a frown. "What's wrong, kid?"

Skye actually jumped into the air and barely repressed a scream at the sound of Grant's voice. "Grant Ward, I am going to kill you one of these days. I thought I was alone down here."

Ward had been lying down on the couch, but had sat up when he heard Skye's big breath. He just smirked and swung his feet off the couch when he saw the anger on her face. Skye stood still, the slight frown returning along with a crease in her forehead that Ward knew meant she was thinking. Ward patted the seat next to him on the couch and looked expectantly at Skye. She huffed out a quick breath and jumped over the back of the couch to sit next to him. "So," Ward began, "What has you thinking so hard?"

"I'm not thinking hard about anything." Skye defended.

Ward flicked his thumb across her forehead and raised an eyebrow at her. Skye smacked his hand but let a smile tug at her lips. He couldn't help but tease her a little more, so he ran his finger along where the crease previously was and whispered "Simba!"

Skye responded promptly by swiftly punching him in the ribs. The soft grunt that caused was enough for Skye to feel that it accomplished her goal. Ward wrapped his arm around her shoulders and asked again, "Skye, what's bothering you?"

"Right now it's you." Skye said, as she looked up and pursed her lips at him, "What's gotten into you today? You're acting weird."

"Well it isn't everyday your little sister gets a new crush." Ward smiled back at her.

"I'm not your little sister." Skye pushed Ward away, completely avoiding the other part of the statement.

"You are, and you know and love it."

"I'm not your family, and you know it."

Ward pulled her against his chest and kissed the crown of her head, "Family doesn't end with blood. You are family."

The basement was silent for a few minutes as the two of them sat on the couch. Ward mindlessly twirled Skye's hair around his finger and she bit her lip, trying to fight the urge to punch him again. He had just called her family, and that meant a lot to Skye. The two of them could sit in silence and never feel awkward; they had just spent enough time together that those feelings faded away. Spending that much time together also meant that they could almost read each other's minds. That is how Skye knew that Ward was about to ask her what was bothering her for the third time that hour. "It's just that I don't know what's going on with myself today."

Ward nodded, knowing exactly what she was talking about. "You caught the love bug, that's what."

Skye shook her head, "This is different though. I've had crushes before, I've fallen for girls, but this is just different. I mean, I called dibs because she was pretty, but I've spent all day, like, obsessed with her. It's just so weird, I've only talked to her like three times."

"So what, you don't believe in love at first sight?" Ward slightly teased.

Skye elbowed him and sighed, "Not really. And then she ran into me at the mall and I could barely look at her."

"She was at the mall?" Ward sat up straighter and Skye knew that an evil grin had crawled onto his face.

"Yes, and your mother seemed to be on a mission to embarrass me."

"What did she do?"

"Well for one, she called her 'The Simmons' when I introduced her."

Ward had to pull his arm away from around Skye as he laughed. Laughing to the point where he almost fell off the couch. Skye rolled her eyes and scooted to the other side of the couch. Ward was finally able to contain his laughter and sit back up straight. He spoke in-between short breaths when he spoke, "How'd that go?"

"I tried my best to do damage control, I think I did pretty good." Skye said as she rolled up into a ball on the couch, "Though I may have to spend the game Friday explaining 'American football' to Fitz and Simmons."

Ward laughed again and stood up, "I'm going to get a shower and go to bed. Get some sleep, shorty."

Ward tossed Skye her pillows and blankets that she kept at the house and walked up the stairs. After she had set up her little bed there on the couch and turned the lights out, she could still hear Ward's voice along with his mother's. She could only imagine their topic of conversation was the one that seemed to be everybody's favorite that day. Skye knew she wouldn't get to sleep anytime soon, so she decided the best thing to do was to get on the Internet. Some time on Tumblr or Reddit could help her settle down. She eventually found her way to Facebook and looked up the name Jemma Simmons.

Her profile picture was of her and Fitz in lab coats and goggles. _How can she manage to make that look cute?_ Skye pondered the question as she continued to scroll through Simmons' page. She considered sending her a friend request, but thought better of it. It was then that Skye subconsciously moved her cursor over the 'Photos' tab and clicked. She was met with a couple hundred pictures of Simmons, most including Fitz as well. As she started to click through the photographs she could feel a small smile forming as she saw all the pictures of Simmons' bright smile. It was around that time that Skye also felt her eyes getting heavy, and before she knew what was happening, she was asleep.

Skye awoke the next day to the sound of Ward's voice and the smell of waffles. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Skye's eyes adjusted from her sleeping state to see Ward standing over her with her laptop in his hands. Her eyes went from adjusting and barely staying open to as wide as they could be as soon as she remembered the last thing she was looking at. "Ward! Give me that!"

He cocked an eyebrow at her and then continued to look at the screen, "You must not be that interested in her. I mean you are Facebook stalking her and all, but you didn't even make it to the pictures from this summer."

Skye's eyes lit up, but she quickly arched her eyebrows at Ward, "Shut up."

He shrugged his shoulders and closed the laptop and set it on the end table. "Just saying." He walked towards the stairs, "Get up and ready, mom's making breakfast. By the way, she looks good in a swimsuit."

Skye spun around to glare at him for that last comment, but he was already up the stairs. She ran her hands through her hair and looked for what to wear that day. She eyed the pile of bags in the corner and thought, _what the heck_. She picked out the bright blue shirt she had been trying on when Simmons ran into her, a size smaller of course, and a pair of jeans with a blue tank top that went oddly well with the shirt she had decided on. After getting dressed she tied her new shoes onto her feet, happy with how comfortable they already felt. Skye moved towards the stairs but froze at the bottom step. Turning back to the room, she saw her laptop and couldn't help herself.

She ran over and opened it. Ward wasn't lying when he mentioned the pictures from the summer. The one he had stopped on was apparently taken by Fitz, he wasn't in the picture, and was of Simmons lying in a lounge chair on a pool deck. The caption mentioned something about her needing some sun, but Skye didn't pay too much attention. Simmons was wearing a light green one-piece swimsuit, a modest choice that Skye shouldn't have been surprised about, and seemed to be adjusting the big sunglasses on her face. Skye stared for a moment longer than she probably should have, then shook her head. She closed the laptop, not before leaving Simmons' page, and ran up the stairs.

Ward had a knowing smile on his face when she reached the kitchen and she just glared at him. Mrs. Ward was just putting the plates of waffles on the table and the older woman looked up at Skye. A big grin stretched her face, "Oh Skye, that outfit is really cute on you."

Skye looked down, she had left the shirt unbuttoned and decided to leave it that way. She thanked Mrs. Ward and sat down to start eating. Her and Ward ate quickly so they could finish getting ready and get to school on time. It wasn't much longer before the pair climbed into Ward's car and took off to the school. The two-story building loomed in front of them as they pulled into the parking lot. The silence in the car was heavy before Ward broke it, "Are you actually going to go to your classes today?"

"I will, Ward." Skye said as she looked into her bag.

"I'm serious, Skye. You need to stop skipping out on these classes."

"I know. I promise I'll go."

Ward let a smile cross his face as he opened the car door and stepped out, "If you break that promise, I'm going to find a way to get back out you."

"And how do you propose doing that?" Skye cocked an eyebrow at Ward.

Ward thought silently for a quick moment, then inspiration hit, "I could always just talk to Simmons for you."

The message behind those words was more of a threat than a friendly offering of help. Skye didn't miss the hidden message and the fear was evident, the confidence of just a moment ago far gone. "You wouldn't dare. What happened to the whole little sister family thing?"

"I'm looking out for your best interests, and if that's what it takes then that's what I'll do."

"I promise I will go to every class! All week even! Just don't do that to me. Please!"

Ward just walked away and left her standing by the car. She jumped when he hit the button on his keys to lock the car, causing the horn to go off. Skye followed him into the building, bracing herself for what she thought would be a very long day. When she got to her locker she took a deep breath and braced herself for the brutal ride ahead.

Skye felt like she couldn't even breathe until lunch. Everything had been so boring today. She made it through all her classes so far, and could only hope to make it to the end of the day. The meal of the day was grilled cheese, but Skye knew that somehow the cafeteria could still screw that up. Her tray made a loud noise as she dropped it onto the table in front of her and pulled her laptop out of her bag. The others made their way to the table, Ward first then Fitz and Simmons together, but Skye barely acknowledged them. Skye kept her eyes on her screen, only speaking up in conversation when something was directed at her, but she couldn't completely ignore the people around her.

Skye's eyes kept drifting to one part of the screen. The code she was looking at left that part of the screen black. That section of screen, however, held something very interesting to Skye. The way the computer was placed allowed that section to reflect the face of the person sitting next to her. While the reflection didn't quite catch all the nuances of Simmons' face and smile, it was enough to keep distracting Skye. All too soon, the time came for the group to go their separate ways. Skye and Simmons were stuck together though.

There were two reasons Skye actually enjoyed this class. For one, it was a computer class and that obviously garnered her interest. The other reason was the teacher. Mr. Stark was a genius, and no one doubted it in any way. The thing about this genius was that he didn't seem to care. This Tuesday, Mr. Stark had brought in a toy he created. It was a chair he had made that floated and was controlled by his phone; with the help of the app Stark had created, called J.A.R.V.I.S. The introduction of the chair to the class gave Mr. Stark the reason he needed to not teach anything today and just give the students the day off.

Skye was enjoying watching Mr. Stark buzz the heads of his students on his chair with JARVIS telling him that he really should stop in the British accent that he had been given. As Skye watched and listened she thought about the accent the app had, and how much more she liked Simmons' version. It was as she was thinking this that she got to hear her preferred accent. "Oh Fitz would love this."

Skye broke out of the daze she had been in while watching the teacher flying across the room and stared over at Simmons, "What?"

Simmons was smiling at Mr. Stark's antics, and looked over to Skye, "Fitz would love to see Mr. Stark's chair."

"Oh. It is pretty cool." Skye did her best to avert her eyes from Simmons' smile and back up to the flying teacher.

"He's really into all the technical aspects of things. You two would probably get along quite well."

"Maybe." Skye muttered.

"By the way, that outfit looks really good. I told you that you needed a size smaller." Simmons said with a slight giggle.

Skye felt her face heat up just as the bell rung to signal the end of class. She let a barely intelligible thanks stumble out as she threw her bag over her shoulder and rushed out of the room. Even in her hurry to escape the awkward situation and feelings that she was having, Skye couldn't help but look back at Simmons on the way out the door. As Skye looked over her shoulder, she saw that the smile had slipped from Simmons' face and had become a thoughtful frown. Skye tried not to let her mind dwell on why that could be as she rushed off to her next class.

Skye couldn't concentrate for the rest of the day. Instead, she spent her time in class thinking about Simmons' smile, and the idea that she really didn't like when it wasn't there. _Why does it even bother me? _Skye asked herself as she thought back to the frown on Simmons' face earlier that day, and the pain in her chest when the image crept into her mind. Skye was following this train of thought as she walked to her locker before her final class of the day. She pushed her hand through her hair and rubbed her eyes when she reached her locker, seeing a shadow fall upon the area when she opened them again. Her body turned quickly, seemingly of its own accord, to see Ward standing behind her. "Ward! You snuck up on me." She uttered in surprise, shaking her head.

"I shouldn't have, I called your name like three times."

Skye's eyebrows bunched together and her mouth fell open as she considered that statement, "I must have been farther inside my own world than I thought."

"I'll say. What what's weighing on your mind? Or better yet, in your hair." Ward asked as her ran his hand through Skye's hair, trying to comb down the wild mane she had created since lunch.

Skye had to remember to pay attention to how she was messing with her hair; otherwise it looked like she had just been through the center of a tornado. She smacked Ward's hand away as she wished she had a mirror in her locker like so many of the girls in school did, "Nothing. Just these stupid classes."

Ward stroked his chin in a sarcastically thoughtful manner, "I'd be wiling to bet that your deep trip into Wonderland this time had to do with _Doctor Who_."

The confusion on Skye's face must have been evident as Ward's grin stretched across his face. "I honestly have no idea what you are talking about." Skye uttered in exasperation.

"You can't tell me you didn't notice your girlfriend's new accessories today."

Ward received a very rough punch in the arm and a steady glare at the mention of the word girlfriend. The laugh that followed the punch was not at all what Skye wanted from him, but she should have expected it. He was a football player, her punch in the arm was nothing compared to some of the hits she'd seen him take. Skye began to throw her books in the locker and pulled out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt back out. "Here, I'll just end the suspense for you." Ward smiled at her, "Simmons is wearing _Doctor Who_ earrings today. They caught my attention at lunch and I mentioned them, I thought you would have noticed. They're cool, a little TARDIS on each ear."

"You don't even watch _Doctor Who_." Skye stated, while she tried to ignore yet another blush rising to her cheeks.

Honestly, Skye didn't watch it either, but she enjoyed the few episodes she had seen. Plus David Tennant and Billie Piper weren't so bad to look at. Skye busied herself putting her hair into a ponytail and tried to ignore Ward's presence, especially since she knew as soon as she tried to say something, he would bring up Simmons again. She pulled her bag over her shoulder and tried to walk past Ward but he looped his arm around her waist and walked with her.

Ward continuously talked throughout the trip to the gymnasium, but Skye just tried to block him out. It didn't really matter to her what he was saying, mostly because she was just mad at him for now. Skye's final class of the day was a "physical education" class. Which basically meant Ward's football coach yelled at her to run or told the kids to throw rubber balls at each other's heads until class was over. Skye thought she could escape Ward once they reached the gym, but luck was not with her today. "Grant Ward! It's about an hour before I should be seeing that smug face of yours."

"Well Coach Garrett it looks like it's your lucky day." Ward smiled at his coach.

"I see you've brought your friend here. She seems to have trouble finding this class some days." Garrett said as he directed his eyes at Skye, who avoided his glare.

Ward spoke to Garrett as he pulled Skye against his side, "Well, we've had a talk about her attendance, so I think that should be better now."

Garrett just smiled and said, "Alright. Ward I'll see you after school. Miss Skye here needs to go get dressed, her and her classmates have a bit of running ahead of them."

Skye held back from groaning and rolling her eyes, which was quite the struggle, and walked toward the locker room while Ward and Garrett finished their conversation. The curses running through Skye's head might have been able to make Ward blush, but her mind went blank when she walked into the locker room. Standing next to Skye's usual locker, in the back corner of course, was someone taking off her earrings. Of course those earrings were in the shape of a little TARDIS. _Could my luck be any worse today?_

Skye went to her locker and tried to open it quickly enough that Simmons didn't see she was there. The plan failed, of course. In her haste to open the locker door, Skye opened it a little too wide and hit Simmons in the elbow as she was placing her earrings on the shelf in the locker. Simmons quietly yelped in surprise more than anything and looked over in Skye's direction. Skye closed her eyes and cursed herself. _That question was not a challenge!_ "Skye?"

Skye did her best to put a small smile on her face and look over at Simmons, "Sorry about that."

"It's quite alright, it didn't hurt any." Simmons said with a smile, "I didn't know you were in this class. I didn't see you yesterday."

The question of why Simmons always had to be smiling passed through Skye's head. That smile that made it really hard for Skye to think clearly. "Yeah, I had something I had to do yesterday. Couldn't make it."

"Well it's good to know I have someone in this class who I know." Simmons replied swiftly before beginning to remove her tie.

Skye suddenly realized she was probably staring, entranced, as Simmons began to get changed. So she quickly turned her back and changed as quickly as she could. When Skye turned around to go back to the gym, it hadn't occurred to her that Simmons would still be there. With much less manageable clothing, Simmons took much longer to change than Skye did and that left Skye with a view of Simmons flat stomach having a t-shirt pulled down over it. The visual was ingrained in Skye's mind and she was staring blankly into space as she re-watched it in her mind. Her reverence was broken by Simmons lightly waving her fingers in front of Skye's eyes. Skye rapidly blinked and the first thing she was able to focus on was Simmons smiling at her with a crooked eyebrow "Are you okay, Skye?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking." Skye replied quickly while sliding past Simmons to leave the room.

Trying to slide past worked, but not entirely as far as Skye was concerned. During the act, the back of her hand brushed across Simmons' fingers. As she tried to avoid Simmons while doing laps of the gymnasium, Skye could feel the spot where Simmons' fingers had touched tingling. She would just shake her hand and try to push the image of Simmons stretching to pull her shirt on (or off, Skye couldn't really tell what her mind was doing at this point) out of her mind.

It wasn't until the trip back to the locker room that fear struck Skye. Even as heavy as she was breathing, her heart found a way to beat faster when she realized that she couldn't avoid Simmons any longer. Skye stared down her locker and quickly moved to it, thinking that she could get out of the room before Simmons had time to get there and talk to her. She had momentarily forgotten that luck was very rarely on her side. Simmons walked up next to her right as she opened her locker. Skye's eyes closed tightly as she internally cursed herself. "Skye?"

The voice pierced every thought she had. She turned to see Simmons staring at her. Her pale cheeks flushed from the exertion of running and a look in her eyes somewhere between curiosity and concern. "Yeah Simmons?"

"Is there something wrong with your hand?"

Skye tilted her head and looked down at her hands, "Um, no?"

"Oh." Simmons' flush seemed to darken some, "It's just that I saw you shake it a few times while running and then you seemed to grimace."

Skye's eyes widened. _She was watching me?_ Hoping not to give away her real reasoning for the act Skye tried to shrug it off, "I didn't even notice I was doing it."

Simmons averted her eyes and began grabbing her clothes, "Well, um, that's good. I was behind you and saw you shaking it and I was just wondering. It's good to hear that it's nothing then."

Skye could have smacked herself. Of course Simmons was behind her. She had been trying to keep away from Simmons so there was no chance of a conversation, and Skye had less of a chance of embarrassing herself, so Skye had kept ahead of Simmons as much as possible. That's how Simmons saw her; of course she wasn't watching her.

Skye's movements slowed as she ran through her thoughts. She tried to push Simmons, and her disappointment in the fact that Simmons wasn't actually paying extra attention to her, out of her mind. It seemed that the more she tried to push these thoughts out, the more pressing they became. "Well, I guess that's all."

Skye barely kept herself from jumping as she was, yet again, yanked out of her own mind. The British accent that could interrupt seemingly any thought Skye had pulled Skye's eyes up to its source. Simmons was looking at Skye, smiling of course, as she pulled her bag on. Skye was still stuffing her clothes into her bag but replied anyway, "I guess so."

Simmons nodded awkwardly and looked as if she was going to speak, then decided against it. She quickly found something else to say however, "Alright. I will see you tomorrow then, Skye."

"Yup. Same time, same place."

Simmons smiled a little more, but the gesture was not reflected in her eyes, "Okay then. Goodbye Skye."

With that, Simmons turned on her heels and slowly walked toward the door of the locker room. Skye watched her walk the entire distance, not knowing why. At first, Skye was watching the way Simmons walked. Her walk didn't have any accentuated movements, like some girls threw their hips out; it was a walk with a purpose. Skye found it very captivating even without Simmons trying to reach for attention.

Skye's eyes found what they were searching for in the form of the back of Simmons' head. It was in that moment that Skye realized why she was watching Simmons. She wanted her to turn around like Skye had done earlier that day. Just a glance back at her was all Skye was hoping for. It was not something she would get this day.

Skye couldn't help but feel utterly disappointed by this. It wasn't some big display of affection she was asking for. She just wanted a look. Something to show Skye that maybe, just maybe, Simmons could possibly be interested in her. Skye was standing alone in the locker room, the last one to leave, when a nasty thought ran through her mind. _She didn't even look back. Why would she? There's nothing back here she'd even think twice about._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: You Could Crush Me…**

The next day was quiet for Skye. Wednesday she didn't even make it to school, something Ward was not overly happy about. He almost dragged her off her couch and up the stairs that morning. That plan was foiled when she looked up at him. In that one look he knew that she hadn't slept at all that night and had spent it crying. Ward couldn't bring himself to force her up after seeing that. Instead he just handed Skye her laptop and grabbed his phone to call the school. He would tell them she was ill and couldn't make it that day, something he could only ever remember doing once before when it wasn't the truth.

The memory of Skye appearing at his window in the middle of the night so many years ago jumped into his head. Before he even got the window open he could see the bruises that had started to form on her body. Ward hadn't even considered Skye going to school that day, in fact he wouldn't have gone had Skye not pushed him to. That was the day he almost broke his arm at football practice. His mind was on Skye, he just wanted to check on her, so he wasn't focused and let himself get hit, hard. The silver lining was that he got to see Skye sooner that way.

Ward shook this memory from his head before he let his anger rise. Leaving that thought behind allowed other memories to fill the space. Like when Skye had come out to him. It had been quite the surprise, frankly. She had been acting weird for a while before she told him, distancing herself from him as much as she could while still staying in his house. Skye had been really quiet during that time, often slipping into deep thought and ignoring everyone around her. It took over a week for Ward to convince her to talk to him. Not that she was very forthcoming with information when they did sit down and talk.

It had been on the very couch they had sat on this week when discussing Simmons. Skye began by talking about anything but herself. She talked about the football team, the news, and the newest episode of a TV show, whatever she could to stall. Ward eventually just grabbed her by the shoulders and asked her what was going on. "I don't know, Ward."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I'm just not sure what is going on in my head right now."

"Okay, so let's talk it out." Ward sat back as he said this, his eyes never leaving Skye's.

Skye, on the other hand, wouldn't meet Ward's eyes, "I think—I may have a crush on someone."

Ward knitted his brow, "A crush? That's what this is about?"

"It's not just a crush…"

"What makes it so different?"

Skye took a deep breath and met Ward's eyes, but only for a second. Her face got red and she felt her heart begin to race. She felt like she might be sick. Ward's hand on her shoulder had a surprisingly calming effect on her. She looked into his eyes and saw the look of concern reflected there. Her mouth seemed to act of it's own accord as she just blurted out what she had been hiding from him, "I think I'm gay."

Ward seemed stunned for a moment and Skye's face burned. She jumped from her spot on the couch and ran toward the stairs. If she could make it to the bathroom without being stopped she could hide for a while, and maybe get rid of this sickly feeling. As she hit the bottom step, however, Skye heard Ward shout her name. Something made her stop and turn to him. Ward waved his hand for her to come back to the couch. She ducked her head, hoping her hair would hide her face and slowly walked back to him. Ward thought she looked like a dog with its tail tucked between its legs. When she reached the couch he wrapped his arm around her waist and looked up at her. "Skye. Look at me."

Ward brushed her hair away from her face. Skye still wouldn't meet his eyes. He took a deep breath and pulled her over the couch to him. She grunted but still didn't say a word. "Hey, Skye, look at me."

Skye wasn't sure what she expected to see when she looked up, but it wasn't what she got. Ward had a small smile on his face. She let her jaw drop in confusion and Ward saw it. "Alright Skye, who's this crush on?"

When Skye responded, it was barely even a whisper, "Kitty."

"Kitty Pryde?" Ward grinned.

Skye just looked down at her feet. Ward hugged her and whispered to her, "Well, she is cute. And she's into computers too. You could've picked worse."

That earned him a giggle and an elbow in the side. Skye smiled at him for the first time in at least a week. "So, you're okay with this?"

Ward shrugged, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I was just worried. You know, some people don't exactly accept that kind of thing."

Ward feigned being insulted, "Now I'm just lumped in with those 'some people'?"

Skye laughed and hugged him. He laughed back at her before saying something that caught her completely off guard; "Just think before you bring any of your girlfriends around here."

Skye pushed back from Ward, her eyes wide, "W—Why?"

"Because they might take one look at this and change their mind." Ward said as he put on his best flirting face and did a flexing pose.

Skye smacked him then put him in a headlock while laughing at him. They wrestled for some time, laughing and crashing to the floor. It wasn't until they heard Mrs. Ward's voice that they stopped. Ward sat laughing for a moment before he realized that Skye had frozen. She sat silently, looking at her feet. He put his hand on her shoulder, "What's wrong?"

"What about your parents?"

"I'm sure they won't care." Ward stood up and grabbed Skye's hand, "Let's go find out."

Skye's feet wouldn't move as Ward started towards the stairs. Ward still had ahold of Skye's hand and gently tugged on it. She looked at him, still with the fear in her eyes he had seen before. "Hey, hey, hey. Don't worry, it'll be fine. They're not going to care."

"How can you know? This isn't exactly something that has happened before, you can't know how they'll take it!"

"Shhh. Trust me, you have nothing to worry about."

Suddenly, Skye's sarcasm was back in action. An eyebrow rose as she looked up at Ward with tear-filled eyes, "You have something to tell me Ward?"

Ward just rolled his eyes and pulled on her hand before she could put her defenses back up. He dragged her up the stairs to the living room. Mrs. Ward was sitting on the couch with the television remote in her hand when they stumbled in. The first thing she noticed was Skye's disheveled appearance, "Skye, what's the matter dear?"

Ward finally let go of Skye's hand and she fought the urge to sprint back down the stairs. She took a deep breath and tried to stand up straight. "Go on Skye, you'll see."

Skye looked up at Ward to see that he had a smile on his face. It wasn't his usual smirk like when he was trying to prank her or something. The smile on his face was comforting, and it was something Skye didn't get much of through the system. That smile gave her the courage to look back at Mrs. Ward and start to speak. "Um, Mrs. Ward, I—I, um."

Mrs. Ward's smile never left her face, but her eyebrows knitted just slightly in a concerned manner. "Skye, come sit down. What is it?"

Skye moved to the opposite side of the couch as Mrs. Ward and sat on the arm, "I kind of have a crush on someone at school."

The pause after this statement left Mrs. Ward more confused than before. "Okay. So who's the lucky fellow?"

Skye tensed up before speaking, "That's the thing. Um, the person I have a crush on is, um, their name is Kitty."

Mrs. Ward blinked a couple times before the meaning set in and her eyebrows rose. "Oh, I see."

The room was filled with the silence of the moment as Skye sat frozen on the arm of the couch. Ward had crossed his arms during the conversation and his shoulders had since tensed. The few moments of silence felt like days to Skye. Finally, Mrs. Ward spoke again, "You're talking about Kitty Pryde, right?"

Skye just nodded and let her hair fall across her face. There was another split second of silence. "Well, she's smart and quite cute. A good choice."

Skye's jaw dropped as Ward doubled over in laughter. "That is almost exactly what I said!" Ward was able to choke out between laughs, "And you were worried."

Skye smiled as Ward pushed her off the arm and onto the couch. Mrs. Ward patted her head affectionately and laughed with her son. Skye was just happy that everyone was okay with her revelation. The three of them sat on the couch and watched TV together for a while after that. Mr. Ward was told that night, he was very passé about the whole thing, almost completely shrugging it off.

Ward was smiling at this memory, and others like it, throughout the school day when he wasn't worrying about what was bothering Skye. During lunch he fielded the question as to why Skye wasn't there from Simmons by simply saying she wasn't feeling well today and couldn't make it. Ward made a mental note to tell Skye that Simmons had asked about her, and the look on Simmons' face when she was told Skye was sick. He thought that was sure to cheer her up. The day was mostly a blur for Ward; he just kept getting distracted thinking about Skye. All he could remember clearly was that his side hurt from getting hit during practice. Skye jokingly called herself his good luck charm, and he was starting to believe it. Whenever she wasn't at practice, even though she was usually hidden away not paying any attention, he always got beat up.

He made it home without too many bruises, and immediately headed for the basement stairs. "Grant!"

Ward stopped in his tracks and turned toward the kitchen. He headed in the direction of his mother's voice and found her sitting at the kitchen table. "Yeah mom?"

"I know you're headed down to see her, but why don't you grab a shower first. And maybe warn her before you head down the stairs."

Ward tilted his head at his mom, "Why?"

"Well for one it's polite." Mrs. Ward said accusingly, "Two, I think she'd appreciate if you didn't smell like that. And three, I think I gave her a heart attack earlier when I went down there."

Ward stifled a smile that threatened to reach his lips. He headed upstairs instead, throwing his bags on his bed and jumping into the bathroom for a quick shower. In a short number of minutes he was cleaned up and headed back downstairs. When he got to the basement stairs, he heard his mom moving around in the living room and remembered her warning.

Ward went about halfway down the stairs and then made sure his steps would make noise. He thought that was warning enough, but upon reaching the bottom he called out "Skye?"

Skye raised her hand from the couch and waved at him. Ward let a small smile across his face. He walked around the couch to see Skye curled up under a blanket on one side. She was staring off into nothingness, her eyes still showing signs of crying, and didn't acknowledge that Ward had come any closer. Ward sat down next to her feet and put his hand on her leg, "How you doing, shorty?"

Skye grunted and continued to stare at the wall. Ward squeezed her leg and chuckled slightly. Skye finally focused her eyes and looked up at him, surprised by the laugh. He looked down at her and said, "I was just thinking about how I used to get you to tell me what was bothering you when you were sick. You're a little too old for that now."

A smile barely showed at the corners of Skye's mouth. She shook her head at him and had a playful gleam in her eyes. Ward was glad to see it, so he gave into her game. "Alright. The last time I did this, you were like six, so I'm probably a little rusty, but here it goes." He cleared his throat and patted her leg and used a jokingly professional voice, "So Miss Patient, what seems to be bothering you today?"

Skye frowned and pointed to her head. "Your head? Like a headache?" Skye shook her head and pointed at her head again, then made a motion that made her fingers look like they were running down to her chest. She stopped just to the left of the center of her chest and looked up at Ward. His eyes were squinted, a look of consideration on his face.

"You never were good at charades." Skye finally spoke, her voice hoarse.

"Yeah, it's not my game." Ward said with a laugh, "So what is bothering you Skye?"

"My mind is running on me and it sucks." Skye said, "And—I have this feeling in my chest like it's heavy. Not like painful or in need of medical attention, but just heavy."

"Well then. I think Doctor Ward has a diagnosis." Ward said, putting his professional voice back on.

Skye laughed and rolled her eyes, "I don't think that man has ever been to medical school." quoting _Toy Story_, "But lay it on me."

"Skye, I'm sorry, but you have a condition called lovesickness. Symptoms include wandering mind and the feeling of a broken heart. So, how did you get this condition?"

"You are such a dork, Grant." Skye said as she looked down.

"Hey Skye, just tell me what happened."

"Yesterday I went to that stupid gym class and Simmons is in there. And I didn't know what to say, so I just avoided her. But before we left, we ended up talking and she walked away and didn't even look back. It sounds stupid but I just wanted to see her to just look back, let me see that she had some interest. God, I'm so stupid." Skye had started to tear up when she began talking and by the end she had broken down completely.

Ward pulled her into his chest. He didn't know if he should respond yet, or just let her get it out of her system. He decided to wait for her to calm down some before he tried to talk to her. So they just sat holding each other for a few minutes. Skye's breathing eventually evened out and Ward could let himself pull her out from his body. He looked at her with concern weighing heavily on his face, "You're not stupid, Skye. What you're going through happens to everybody. It's completely normal. Just breathe."

"I can't 'just breathe' Ward." Skye said as she looked up at him, "I'm dragging myself through this over a girl I just met that would never be into me! I can't deal with this! And when I go back to school she's going to be there and it's all going to come back."

"Well then, I hate to say it but you have to make a choice."

"What do you mean?"

"You can either try and forget your feelings, or you can embrace them and try to ease your way into a relationship with her. She's going to be a hard catch if you try, but you have to decide whether she's worth it. Though I will say that she seemed concerned that you weren't at school today."

The pair sat in silence after that. Ward turned on the TV and they flipped channels for a few hours, switching between crime dramas and ghost hunting shows. Ward left the basement to go to bed nearing midnight, but not before giving Skye a kiss on the head and wishing her good night.

Once he left, Skye let her thoughts of Simmons take control again. Ward was right, even though she hated to admit that in any situation, she had a choice to make. The thought of Simmons' smile made thinking this through very challenging for Skye, however. She made her choice. She couldn't get the girl out of her head, so she was going to find a way to get the girl. There was no way she would be able to let this go. Her mission was to grab Simmons' heart like the girl had grabbed hers, and the mission began immediately.

Okay, so maybe not immediately. Thursday started out with Skye actually waking up before Ward made her. He came down the stairs to see her already dressed for school. Skye was ready to make a good impression this day, so she was making sure to look as cute as possible. The set up complete, it was time for school.

At Skye's locker before class, Ward stood grinning at her. She had brought a mirror with her in her backpack that day, something she never does, and was checking her reflection seemingly every two seconds. Ward couldn't help but laugh at her actions so far today, earning him quite the death glare. They turned to leave the locker and head off to class, and at this moment Skye lost all confidence in her plan and all her ability to follow through with it.

As the pair turned away from the locker, Skye spotted Simmons walking in their direction. Skye let out a tiny squeak and ducked behind Ward. He was confused by her actions until he looked up at the sound of a British voice. "Hello Ward." Simmons approached them with a smile, "And Skye! It is good to see that you are feeling better."

Skye could only nod as she looked down at the phone she had retrieved from her pocket as an escape. Ward smiled back at Simmons, "I don't think she's recovered completely yet, but I'm glad to see her up and moving again too."

Simmons gave Skye a once over, "Oh Skye! You look fantastic today!" As her words passed her lips she gained a pink tint on her cheeks. "I mean, not like you look bad other days it's just that—you look extra, um, extra lovely today."

Skye felt the blush rise faster and hotter than any she had ever experienced. She muttered a thanks in Simmons' direction as she rushed past her. Partially to get to class, as she had promised Ward she'd go to them, but mostly to escape from the situation that had been created.

She heard Simmons' voice as she ran off, "Oh, bother."

Skye sat in the back of her Algebra class but may as well have been in her own world. She couldn't think about anything other than what an idiot she's being. She couldn't go through with this plan, Simmons would just never be interested in her and it was time to get that into her head. She was torn from her self-deprecation by the vibration of the phone in her pocket. She took the phone and looked down at the screen; a text message?

**Ward: **What the Hell Skye?

Skye was thoroughly confused by the message. What did she do to bother Ward that much?

**Skye:** What?!

**Ward:** You get all dressed up for Simmons then she shows up and even compliments you and you just run off?

Oh. That's what this is about. When Skye saw Simmons that morning her heart jumped into her throat and her stomach dropped. Her nerves got to her and she hated herself for it.

**Skye:** I got nervous!

Skye wanted to add what she was thinking, but couldn't bring herself to do it. She could almost see Ward rolling his eyes at her last message. _I can't actually do this_. The thought ran over and over in her head as she went through her classes that day. When lunch came around, Skye just put her headphones in and put her music on loud enough to block out the world.

Though her computer class was a bit of a problem. Ward walked her to the class but, seeing the mood she was in, stayed silent for the walk. When they reached the door, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in. He kissed the crown of her head before he let go and walked away. Once she got to her seat in the room, the real problem came to light. Simmons sat right next to her. "Hello, Skye."

Skye nodded absentmindedly while she looked at the screen as it booted up. She did her best to ignore Simmons, though that proved challenging. Simmons began flexing her fingers and spoke, "So, um, Ward is quite nice."

"Um, yeah?" Skye was utterly baffled by the way this conversation had started.

"How long have you known each other?"

"Years. Pretty much as long as I can remember."

"That's nice. You two are very close then?"

"Yeah. He's my best friend." Skye didn't trust herself to look up at Simmons.

Simmons hummed in response and pursed her lips at her screen. If Skye had looked up, she would have seen the faint blush on Simmons cheeks, "He is quite attractive."

Skye almost choked on her own breath. She just made a noise from her throat that she thought sounded affirmative. The conversation ended there and the pair was silent throughout Mr. Stark's lesson.

The rest of the day was nothing but the droning of teachers and the music on her phone. Even the ride back to Ward's house was silent. Skye avoided everyone she could for the rest of the night. She skipped dinner and just sat on her laptop the entire time.

Not very long after the Ward family has their dinner together, Skye felt a presence over her shoulder. She can also smell the hamburger from the plate that is surely behind her. The plate was set down on the end table and Grant Ward sat down on the couch next to her. He reached over and played with the track pad on Skye's laptop. She smacked his hand away and glared at him, but not before he changed the screen to see what music she was playing. "A Mayday Parade kind of day, is it?"

Skye barely heard him over the music, but took out one of the earphones she had in and looked at him. She tried to keep her voice from cracking, "What do you want, Ward?"

"Well, I figured you would need food at some point, and I wanted to see what got into you today." Ward replied as he placed his arm around her shoulders.

Skye shrugged his arm off of her. She bit the inside of her mouth and put her earphones back in. Ward immediately pulled her earphones back out. "You sonuva—" Skye screamed in pain as she reached for her ears.

The two of them looked at each other, both with glares on their face; Skye's more hostile than Ward's, his was more questioning. A staring contest broke out. Each of them was daring the other to break. Almost every time one of these fights happened Ward came out on top. This time was no different. Skye broke eye contact and looked back down at the computer screen, "I can't do it."

Ward put his arm back on her shoulders, immediately knowing what she was talking about, "Why not?"

"I saw her this morning and I realized something, I have no chance with this girl. Though you might."

"What do you mean?" Ward removed his arm from Skye.

"She apparently thinks you are 'quite attractive'." Skye said while putting her head in her hands.

"Well I can't blame her. I am ruggedly handsome, aren't I?" Ward sat back and then realized that his teasing was not going over well, even if he quoted one of her favorite shows. "Look Skye, I told you before, I'm not moving on her. She's yours. I've seen the look on her face when she sees you, and how she acted when you missed school; you have a chance here. You just have to take it."

Skye grabbed the plate that Ward had set down. Ward stood up and patted her leg. He walked to the stairs, but before he got there Skye spoke up, "Grant. Thanks."

Ward gave her a smile, "Just take your shot. You've got an opportunity tomorrow."

Skye started eating, considering Ward's words. _What did he mean by a chance tomorrow?_ She was mid-bite into the hamburger when it hit her. The football game! The urge to smile was matched by the urge to be sick. Her nerves were kicking up as the sun was going down. Skye had to make her mind up right now, because if she tried to go with the flow as she usually did she wouldn't be able to go through with it.

As she was thinking this, Mrs. Ward came down to the basement. "Hey, Skye. Are you done with your food down here?"

Skye smiled at her as she handed Mrs. Ward the plate, "Yeah, thanks."

"I see you're feeling better." Mrs. Ward gave a beaming smile back.

"Yeah. I'm scheming now." Skye said with a laugh.

Ward made his way down the stairs, "We all know how much you like to scheme."

Mrs. Ward smiled at her son then turned away, "Well, I'll leave you to it."

As his mother walked up the stairs, Ward looked over his shoulder then jumped over the couch to sit next to Skye. He leaned against the arm of the couch and stared at Skye with a smirk on his lips. She raised an eyebrow at him, "What?"

Ward just let the smile stretch across his face, "Just watching you scheme about how you're going to ask Simmons out tomorrow."

"I'm not going to ask tomorrow, Ward." Skye said as she looked across the couch at him.

He tilted his head as he looked at her, "Well, why not?"

"Because I need to get a little more information before I do that. I can't just jump into this, I'd like to get to know her a little better first."

"Wow Skye, you aren't trying to sleep with her, dates are for getting to know each other better." Ward got an evil grin, "Unless you are trying to sleep with her."

Skye resisted the urge to punch him and just shook her head. Ward had a stupid smile on his face as he was quietly humming Marvin Gaye and was waiting for her to respond. She just laughed, "I want to do this right."

"Alright." Ward stood up, "Get some sleep, sounds like you have a big day tomorrow."

"So do you. Big game tomorrow."

"Night, Skye!" Ward yelled down from the top of the stairs.

Skye curled up on the couch a few minutes later with a smile on her face. She was excited for the next day, but could feel the butterflies in her stomach already. It was just a matter of hours, and then she would be trying her best to win over the beautiful Brit.

For the second day in a row, Ward didn't have to wake Skye up for school. He made a comment about Simmons being a good influence as he threw his away jersey at her. Skye just stuck her tongue out at him and pulled the jersey over her shoulders. She did have to smile because just the mention of Simmons put an image of the girl's smile in her head.

Ward and Skye climbed into his car later that morning and as soon as the school was in view, Skye's leg began shaking. It didn't go unnoticed by Ward. "Deep breath, Skye. You'll win her over."

"Thanks, Ward. I just really don't want to screw this up."

"It'll be fine, don't be nervous. Just be your usual goofy, confident, and sarcastic self. Remember, if you can't blind them with your brilliance…"

"Baffle them with your bullshit." Skye finished with a laugh.

"That last part is what you're good at." Ward laughed back at her as he pulled into the school's parking lot.

They pulled into a parking spot and walked into the school. Skye wanted to hang around her locker a little longer than usual; Ward rolled his eyes as her eyes scanned the hall. She used a hair tie to make sure the jersey didn't hang so loosely around her body and ducked her head into the locker. As she did this, she received an elbow in her ribs. She yanked her head out and spun to berate Ward only to freeze at the sight of Fitz and Simmons standing there. "Well, um, hey there." Skye mumbled out.

"Hello Skye." The newcomers said simultaneously.

Fitz's seemed a little more enthusiastic than Simmons', but Skye tried not to read into that. Ward looked back and forth between the pair, "Are you two like psychically linked or something?"

"Some people seem to think that." Fitz replied.

"Yes. Because of that—"

"—And because we are always together—"

"—Some people just began combining our names into—"

"FitzSimmons." The two of them finished together.

Skye and Ward just looked at them, stunned, with jaws loosely hanging. Ward was the first to recover after discovering that the duo even blushed in sync, "That's quite the talent."

"I'll say. You can read each other's minds, can you read mine?" Skye asked with a lopsided smirk and a glint in her eyes while looking into Simmons'.

Fitz responded while staring at his phone while Simmons just held a shocked face that was quickly turning red, "We can't actually read each other's minds, that's scientifically implausible, if not impossible. But, it is time for class, so we should get going."

They said their goodbyes and Skye almost skipped her way to her class with Ward beside her. Ward smiled at her, "Good job so far, you haven't lost your head yet. And was there even some flirting in there?"

Skye shrugged her shoulders with a big smile, "Maybe there was."

"I think Simmons may have actually read your mind back there with the way she blushed. So, what were you thinking?"

"Well, I'd tell you, but I don't think you want that image in your head at the moment." Skye winked at him.

Ward laughed and mussed her hair. She walked into her classroom while running her fingers through her hair and biting her lip. Skye sat in her usual seat with a smile on her face, which seemed to actually throw Mr. Sitwell off. Her smile never left, even after the announcement of a test in the class, as she anxiously awaited the time for lunch.

When lunch finally arrived, Skye rushed to the cafeteria. She didn't even care what it was serving; she just wanted to get to the table first. The chicken nuggets on the tray bounced around as she threw it onto the table with a loud bang. As she sat down she rushed to open her bag and pull out the mirror she was carrying that day. Skye looked up after fixing her hair and hearing a laugh. Ward and Fitz were having a conversation with Simmons following behind them. Skye and Ward made eye contact and she shifted her eyes toward the seat next to her, Ward seemed to get the message. He sat down next to Skye, Fitz appeared confused but sat across from Ward without a word; which left Simmons directly across from Skye.

The group sat and ate while carrying on a casual conversation. A few minutes into the lunch period, Skye was trying to find the least obvious and clichéd ways to flirt with Simmons. Eventually, she decided to just go with a cliché if she had to. That led to Skye slipping her foot across the ground under the table and running her foot lightly against Simmons'. The first couple times Skye did it, Simmons just shrugged it off as an accident. But after five or six occurrences Simmons looked over at Skye questioningly. Skye looked at her and winked, then went back to the conversation she and Ward were having.

Not long after that, the bell signaling that it was time for the next class rang. The group split, but Skye and Simmons continued the conversation from the lunch table on their way to their computer class. Skye made sure to walk close enough to Simmons to bump their shoulders together occasionally. Once the class started, however, Mr. Stark announced that they would actually have work to do that day. That information sent a wave of groans throughout the room, until he also announced that everyone could work with a partner. All they had to do was tell him who was partnering with whom. The usual pairs raised their hands and told Stark what he had heard time and time again. Then Skye raised her hand. "Yes, Skye. If you want to, you can work alone."

"Actually, I thought I would partner up with Jemma." Skye made sure to enunciate the girl's first name; she also had to fight back a smile at how it rolled off her tongue.

There was a quiet gasp next to Skye, which almost turned into a squeak. Mr. Stark seemed just as surprised before shrugging and bringing his coffee cup to his lips, "Well, okay then. I guess that's settled."

Mr. Stark explained the project that they were to work on and let them start working. Skye, being the one more proficient in the class, began bringing up ideas on how they could go about the project. Simmons listened with rapt attention, leaving a look on her face of concentration. That look made it hard for Skye to concentrate however, and she found herself stumbling over some of her words as she took in the way the light reflected in Simmons' eyes or the way she bit her lip when Skye said something that didn't she didn't quite understand.

The first stages of working on the project were set up, and then class came to an end. Skye walked out before Simmons could finish getting her bag together, but didn't leave without a "See you later, Jemma." The rest of the day flew by for Skye, much to her amazement. Gym class wasn't the death of her today, as she ran next to Simmons and talked the entire time. The only thing that Skye didn't feel great about that day was the effort she put into tearing her eyes off Simmons while they were changing before and after class.

As it was Friday, Ward had to rush Skye back home and then rush back to the school to get ready for the game later that night. Skye sat around the Ward's house, mostly on her laptop or talking to Mrs. Ward, until six. That was when Mrs. Ward drove up to the football field to support her son. Mrs. Ward went and sat with some of the other football parents while Skye stood by the gate, waiting. She heard what she was waiting for before she saw it. Simmons' laugh seemed to echo as she walked around the corner into Skye's vision. Skye called both her and Fitz's names as she walked toward them. "Hey guys, how's it going?"

"Hello Skye," Simmons answered with a smile, "we are quite well."

"Excited to see American football?" Skye asked, putting on her version of a British accent.

The look of disgust on Fitz's face, as well as the slightly hidden look of pain on Simmons', said how bad Skye's impersonation was. "Oh Lord, Skye." Fitz exclaimed while shaking his head, "That accent was awful!"

Simmons let out a giggle, "But as bad as it was, I am excited to see. I actually have never seen American football before."

"Well then follow me, because I am going to be your tour guide for the day." Skye waved her hands towards the stands.

They sat down right as the game was set to start. Skye tried to answer every question the pair had. Fitz and Simmons had cringed when they first saw a tackle, proving that they had in fact never watched American football before. The game was a close one, so as it got farther along Skye became less active in answering questions and more intent on watching the game unfold. As the fourth quarter neared the end, the Shields were down four points. Skye spent a timeout explaining that to win, Ward had to lead the team all the way down the field and score a touchdown in under a minute and a half.

The tension could be felt in the air and the immense pressure of the situation was not lost on the two foreigners. As Ward marched the team down the field, FitzSimmons were actually getting into the action of cheering with the rest of the crowd. The final play of the game consisted of Ward launching a pass over the heads of the defenders and Triplett diving across the goal line to catch it. The crowd exploded with excitement. Fitz, Simmons, and Skye were jumping and screaming. Skye turned at the same time Simmons did and they hugged tightly. It wasn't until their torsos made contact that Skye realized what was happening. She could feel the curves of Simmons' body against hers, feel the muscles in Simmons' back where her hands lay, and she could feel, and smell, Simmons hair brushing against her face. When the hug ended Skye felt her heart and stomach drop slightly in disappointment. "Ward was fantastic out there tonight!"

Fitz's voice derailed Skye's train of thought and she felt the need to respond, "Yeah. He played like a champ."

Fitz looked around, "Well that was exciting, but if you ladies would excuse me."

The young Scot ran off in the direction of the restrooms, leaving Skye and Simmons alone together in the crowd of cheering fans. There was a brief moment of silence before Skye decided something. _I need to ask this girl out, now._ Skye turned towards Simmons. "Hey Simmons?"

The shorter girl tore her gaze from the field and looked at Skye with that beaming smile, "Yes?"

Skye opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out for a second. She cleared her throat, "Would you, um—" It was at that moment Skye's phone vibrated. Skye cursed under her breath, "Hold on for two seconds."

Skye yanked her phone out of her pocket; glaring at the screen hard enough that she was sure the person who had texted her could feel her anger. The glare dropped, as did her jaw, and her eyes widened when she saw the name that flashed across the screen. Skye's heart began to beat rapidly and she felt her stomach begin to turn. She opened the text message that had appeared.

**Maria Hill:** I went to your foster home today. Tell Carrie to expect me when you get back from the game.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: …Please Don't Crush Me**

"Skye? Are you okay?"

Simmons' hand was suddenly resting on Skye's shoulder. The contact shook Skye back into reality and she straightened the shocked look on her face. "I—I have to go."

Skye shuffled past Simmons into the isle of the stands and frantically searched for Mrs. Ward in the crowd. She finally spotted the woman and ran towards her. Mrs. Ward could see the fear in Skye's eyes when they neared each other. "What's the matter Skye?" Mrs. Ward's voice was echoing the concern she saw on Skye's face.

"Maria went to the foster house today. She said she'd be at your house by the time we got back from the game." Skye explained, feeling out of breath.

Mrs. Ward immediately put her arm around Skye, and began walking to the exit of the stadium. Skye leaned into Mrs. Ward as she pulled out her phone and sent a text to Grant, explaining what was happening. The two ladies quickly made their way to the car and jumped in. The ride to the Ward household was quiet, but tension filled the air.

There was a black sedan sitting in the Ward's driveway when Skye and Mrs. Ward pulled in. Maria Hill stepped out of her car at the same time as the others. She brushed her dark hair off the shoulder of her blazer and stood with a folder in her hands, waiting. "Hello, Carrie."

"Hello, Maria. I wish I could say I was happy to see you."

"It's a hazard of the job, I guess." Maria shrugged her shoulders, but the smile on her face was quite obviously forced.

Mrs. Ward led the way into the house, with Maria right behind her and Skye staying well behind them. If she thought she could get away with it, Skye would have run down into the basement and found a place to hide. As appealing as the idea was, she knew she had to hear what was coming. "Skye, why didn't you call me?"

Maria's voice was questioning, but not accusing. It sounded more tired than anything. Skye looked up at her. She knew Maria didn't like pulling kids in and out of homes, but it came with the territory. Maria had treated her better than any foster family she had ever been with, and got her out of some bad spots. It was also nice that Maria used the name Skye chose for herself, not the awful name she was given. She also let Skye stay with the Ward's even though, technically, it was slightly illegal. "I didn't think I needed to. I was the only kid there and I got out."

Maria was sitting at the kitchen table, as was Mrs. Ward, with the folder on the table in front of her. She rubbed her eyes before looking at Skye again, "You know you're supposed to call me if something goes wrong at the houses."

Skye was glad she didn't call it a home, it was far from one. "I'm sorry. I just wasn't worried about it once I left."

"Skye, I am half tempted to call you every day. Just to see if you have jumped ship on another house." Maria's voice had started to harden.

"Look, Maria, I really am sorry I didn't call you. I just thought that with everything going on at that house, here was the best place for me."

"Skye!" That was the first time Maria had shouted at Skye in years, "They were spending the money the agency was sending them on drugs! Syringes were all over that house! You didn't think we should know about that? What if we had sent another kid there?"

Skye was taken aback by how loud Maria had gotten. "I'm—sorry. I didn't think."

As soon as Skye stuttered out her sentence, Maria's shoulders dropped. She put her head in her hands, "Skye, I know why you didn't call. I know you don't want to get dropped off somewhere else, but you know the rules."

"All I want is to be allowed to stay here!" It was Skye's turn to raise her voice, "Is that too much to ask from you people?"

Mrs. Ward put her hand on Skye's arm in an attempt to calm her. Carrie figured that she should just let the two of them work this out on their own; she was just here in case it somehow escalated. Maria ran her fingers through her hair, "Skye, I'd love to just let you stay here—"

Skye cut her off with a scream, "Then just do it!"

"You know I can't." Maria wasn't raising her voice again, but it was even and strong, "I would be fine letting you live here, but the law says I can't. The Ward's live just on the other side of the county line. We've had this conversation before."

The room was silent. Not that Skye would have noticed any noise anyway. All she could hear was her blood boiling and pumping. Her jaw and fists were clenched tightly enough that they were starting to hurt. "So, what does that mean now?"

Mrs. Ward calmly asking the question shook Skye out of her angry state. Maria straightened up in her chair, "That means Skye will be assigned a new foster parent by the agency."

Skye's heart dropped, "Let me guess, until then it's back St. Agnes, right?"

"Actually, no."

Skye whipped her head up and looked at Maria, Mrs. Ward's face showed only a fraction of the confusion that Skye was sure hers did. "What do you mean?"

"You can stay here tonight, but your new foster parent has already been chosen, so I'll be here tomorrow afternoon to pick you up."

Skye's jaw dropped. Mrs. Ward's hands dropped to the table and made a thumping sound. The statement needed time to sink in. It was during this silence that a car could be heard pulling in to the driveway and a door slamming. Grant Ward ran through the front door and burst into the kitchen. Maria looked up at him, "Hello, Grant."

"Maria. What's going on here?"

She took a moment to explain what was happening and by the time Ward was filled in, the other two had recovered from the shock. Mrs. Ward was the first to speak, "So who is this new foster parent, may I ask?"

Maria grabbed the folder she had set on the table, "He's an old friend of mine. We've kept in touch over the years and he told me a couple weeks ago that he was interested in becoming a foster parent. I like you Skye, and I've known you for a long time, so I thought I'd let you see his file before I took you over there."

Skye took the file when Maria held it up to her and walked over to take a seat at the table. Grant stood over her as she opened it up. The first thing Skye saw was a picture of a man, who looked in his mid-forties, giving the camera a tight-lipped smile. He looked nice enough, and he was a friend of Maria's. She flipped through the rest of the papers and skimmed the information. He owned the local car insurance firm, had never been married, never had kids, nothing too unusual. Then something caught Skye's eye. "You met him in the military?"

Maria smiled, "I thought you might catch that. Yeah, I did. He's actually the one that convinced me to leave the military and go into the government sector."

Skye had heard about Maria's past. After sixteen years in the system, a decade of which with Maria helping Skye out, they got to know each other pretty well. Skye knew that Maria left a blossoming career in the military to help run a small government agency dealing with terrorism. When the budget could no longer afford that organization, Maria decided she was going to help Social Services; apparently her friend wanted to deal with cars not kids.

Maria looked at her watch, "I should be going. I'll be back at, say, four tomorrow to get you."

Mrs. Ward nodded and offered to walk Maria out. Skye just closed the file and stared at the table. She didn't know what to make of the situation. This guy didn't seem bad, Maria seemed to really trust him, but she didn't want to leave the Ward's house; especially not as quickly as she was going to. Ward was still standing over her shoulder and she looked up at him. He looked back down at her, "I saw his address. He lives like two streets over."

Skye knew what the message behind Ward's words was. If things got bad, it wasn't that far back. All the statement did, however, was make Skye a little angry. Two streets. That's all that separated her from living where she wanted to. She could probably throw Ward across the county line from the driveway.

Mrs. Ward returned to the kitchen and checked the clock, "It's pretty late. I think I'm going to bed."

The clock noted that it was well past midnight at this point, and it wasn't until then that Skye realized how tired she actually was. Mrs. Ward gave both kids a hug and a kiss before heading upstairs. Grant stuck around and walked down the stairs with Skye. "Hey Grant. I forgot to tell you: great game tonight."

"Thanks, shorty." He smiled back at her.

"You played well enough that even Fitz and Simmons were into it."

"How'd it go with her anyway?"

"I was going to do it right when Maria texted me." Skye sat on the couch and shook her head, "I was so close. But she is my partner for a computer project."

Grant leaned over the back of the couch and wrapped his arms around her before he kissed her head, "It'll happen. But I think you better try to get some sleep. Good night, Skye."

"Good night, Grant." Skye reached up and hugged around his neck.

Ward gave her another squeeze and made his way upstairs. Skye laid down on the couch with her pillow and stared at the ceiling. She had seen this new guy's file, and Maria liked him, but she was still nervous. If Maria liked and trusted him enough to handpick him for Skye, then he couldn't be that bad. Skye tried to tell herself that, but it didn't keep her from tossing and turning all night.

The smell of bacon woke Skye from her slumber. She sat up slowly, and was only willing to do that because the scent was making her mouth water. Skye climbed the stairs and shuffled into the kitchen. "Good morning Skye."

The cheery voice of Mrs. Ward gave Skye only enough energy to wave and mutter a response. Skye sat down and put her head on the table. She heard footsteps enter the kitchen. A hand pressed down on the back of her head, "Skye? Out of bed before noon? On a Saturday? It's a miracle." Grant's voice was muffled to Skye's ears thanks to her hair.

"Bacon." Was Skye's only response.

Ward just chuckled and sat next to her. Not a minute later, a plate was placed on the table in front of Skye. She finally raised her head and pulled the plate closer to her. The room was filled with the sound of forks hitting the plates while trying to pick up eggs and the crunch of bacon and toast. A conversation was started between Mrs. Ward and her son, but every time they neared a topic concerning any point in time past that day, they changed course. Skye noticed this and tried to ignore the thoughts pulling at the back of her mind. "Hey Skye, I bet I can beat you at Skee-Ball."

Skye raised an eyebrow at Ward as he took a bite of toast. "You couldn't beat me if I was wearing a blindfold."

"That's a bold statement. Think you can put it to the test?"

"You are on."

Skye stood up and ran to beat Grant to the stairs. Challenges like this were nearly an everyday occurrence between these two. They were about even at Skee-Ball, but Grant had her beat at pool. When it came to any type of video game, however, it was Skye's turn to dominate.

They played five games of Skee-Ball in the basement. Skye won three. She danced around Ward as he crossed his arms when she beat the high score on the machine in their last game. A high score that he set. "Good game Skye. Next time you're using the blindfold, though."

They laughed at each other and Skye punched him in the arm. She ran her hands through her hair and realized she was in desperate need of a shower. Skye gathered up what she would need and ran up to the bathroom. All thoughts of the future were forgotten, as far as she was thinking it was a regular Saturday at the Ward home. Her dream world shattered when she exited the bathroom, however. After she opened the door and began her walk back to the basement, she heard Maria's voice float through the house.

Skye's heart stopped and her stomach fell. She pulled her phone out quickly. It was already after three! In less than an hour she would be shipped off to somewhere she knew nothing about and didn't want to be. She attempted to steady her breathing as she walked into the living room to face her inevitable fate.

Maria was sitting in the chair on one side of the coffee table while Mrs. Ward and Grant sat on the couch. Skye quickly sat between the mother and son. The room was quiet for a moment longer than seemed necessary before Maria spoke. "How are you today, Skye?"

Skye looked across at her and raised her eyebrows. Maria pressed her lips together tightly and nodded. "Look, Skye, I hate to do this. But it's the law. If it was up to me, I'd let you stay here."

Maria's voice sounded like she was pleading with Skye, maybe trying to get her to understand. "I get it." Skye returned, "It doesn't mean I have to like it."

Maria nodded again, "I am sorry."

"I know." Skye took a deep breath, she was never good at this kind of thing, "And thanks for, you know, looking out for me."

Maria seemed momentarily stunned, "You're welcome."

"And it's good to know that you trust this guy. It makes all this a little easier." Skye's hands were wringing together and she wouldn't look up at Maria.

Skye felt Mrs. Ward's hand on her back. She looked up at Mrs. Ward, who just gave her a smile, then changed her focus to Maria. It almost looked like Maria had tears in her eyes. The woman cleared her throat, "Well, I guess you should start packing up. He's expecting us around four-thirty."

It was Skye's turn to just nod. She went to stand up and asked Mrs. Ward if she would help. Mrs. Ward agreed, of course. Skye looked down to avoid Grant's feet while leaving and saw that his knuckles were white from the way he was clinching his hands together. Skye reached down and grabbed his hands. He looked up at her and tried to hide the tears that had threatened to fall, but Skye could tell he was fighting them. She stared into his eyes and said three simple words, "Two streets over."

Ward nodded. They both knew what that meant. Grant stood and Skye heard him offer Maria a drink as she made her way down the stairs. Skye knew that her and Grant would still be spending a lot of time together, it was just going to be different now. Now, she couldn't just run from her foster house, Maria would know. She was sure they'd work it out, though, they always did.

Packing didn't take all that long. Skye travelled light, so to speak, anyway and with Mrs. Ward's help they were done in no time. Skye's two bags, well Skye's and one she "borrowed" from Grant, were sitting on the couch. The pair stared down at them without moving. Mrs. Ward sighed, "Well, I guess it's about that time."

Skye didn't move to pick up a bag; the movement she made was towards Mrs. Ward. She gripped the woman she had come to see as a mother in a tight hug. Skye felt the hug being returned as the tears stung her eyes. "Hey, sweetie, don't cry. Like Grant said, this house is just around the corner. We'll be right there if you need us."

Skye knew those words were the truth, but something about this felt different than usual. This wasn't the first time Maria had moved her to a new foster home from here, but this time felt heavier. Skye felt Mrs. Ward begin to release her hold and followed suit. They looked at each other, Mrs. Ward with her seemingly ever-present smile, "Thank you for everything, Carrie."

The tears were welling in Mrs. Ward's eyes, "No need for thanks, Skye. And don't make this sound so final, you're moving down the road."

That statement brought a soft laugh from both of them. A small smile broke out on Skye's face. They each grabbed a bag and started up the stairs. They arrived in the kitchen to a laughing Grant repeating "No way!" over and over.

"What's so funny about that, Grant?" Maria asked with one hand on her hip and the other holding a glass of water.

"I just can't imagine it, is all."

"Can't imagine what?" Mrs. Ward questioned.

"Your son and I were talking about the game last night, and he was amazed by my football knowledge. He asked how I knew so much and it's because I grew up with two older brothers and was a cheerleader in school."

Skye's jaw dropped as Grant was caught in another fit of laughter. "You were a cheerleader?"

"Yes. Co-captain, in fact." Maria said proudly as she took a drink.

"It is a little hard to imagine." Skye shrugged, "I mean, if I had to imagine you in high school, I would have guessed JROTC."

"I actually never planned to enlist. I was going to go to college for business, but someone changed my mind." As soon as Maria said that, her phone rang, "Speak of the Devil." She excused herself and as she was leaving the room the remaining group heard her first words into the phone, "Hey Nat. I was just talking about you."

Ward had caught his breath by the time Maria left. He walked over and wrapped his arms around Skye. Skye gripped the back of his shirt. She could feel his chest slowly rising and falling, he was trying to control his breathing. Skye was realizing that it wasn't just her that felt like this time was different.

Maria walked back into the room, "Alright, looks like it's time to go."

Ward kissed Skye's head and took a few steps back. Mrs. Ward hugged Skye again as Maria grabbed one of Skye's bags and headed toward the door. Skye pulled the other bag over her shoulder as she followed Maria out. Final goodbyes, not that Skye wanted to think about it like that, were made at the side of Maria's car. After that, Skye climbed into the car and waved as they pulled away. Looking in the rearview mirror, Skye could see Grant arguing with his mother. She knew he was trying to get her to let him follow Maria. That brought a smile to Skye's face.

Ward was slightly off in guessing how far the new house was from the Ward home. It was three streets, not two. During the short time it took to get there the car was silent. As they pulled into the driveway, Skye spotted a black SUV in the open garage next to a small form with a tarp over it. Other than the cars, there wasn't much in the building other than a small amount of car repair tools. The lights were on in the house but she didn't see any shadows moving to signify that anyone in the house noticed their arrival. Maria reached over and patted Skye's hand, which she had placed on the center console, "I know this is tough for you, but Phil's a good guy. He's a little tough to get to know, but I think you'll like him when you do."

Skye just nodded and climbed out of the car. They each grabbed a bag and began walking to the house. It was a modest two-story home, one that you would expect to see in a picture about following the "American Dream", just without the white picket fence. Maria stepped up onto the porch and up to the door, ringing the doorbell before turning and giving Skye a small smile. Skye heard the door unlock and watched it swing open. The man from the file was standing in front of her in a suit with that same tight-lipped smile she saw in his file. "Hello Maria."

Maria returned the smile and the greeting, "Hello Phil. I'd like you to meet Skye."

Skye looked up at the man she would be living with for the foreseeable future. His smile seemed to grow slightly and his eyes gave off a twinkle. He stuck his hand out for her to shake. "It's good to meet you, Skye."

Skye reached out and shook his hand, might as well try to make a decent first impression. "Hey."

"Please, come in. I wouldn't want you two just standing out here."

Maria thanked him, and Skye echoed the sentiment, as they walked through the door. They all walked past the entryway and into the living room. Phil sat in the recliner and Maria took a spot on the couch. Skye remained standing in the corner. She looked around the room. There was a TV on one side of the room and a fireplace on the next wall. Next to the fireplace was an instrument Skye barely recognized, a cello. Apart from that and a couple small decorations, the room was very plain. Maria glanced up at her, and then back to Phil, "I'm sorry to pull you into this on such short notice."

Phil shook his head, "It's no problem. You've pulled me into a lot of tough situations without any warning in the past. I'm just glad I got more than thirty seconds of warning this time."

Maria shot him a look that showed her offense taken at the comment, "I gave you at least a full minute on that and you know it."

Phil let out a light laugh, "Sure you did. I just wish I was as prepared for this as I was for the truck that came after you through that gate."

Maria tilted her head and the sarcasm could be heard dripping from her voice, "You were prepared for that?"

"I was trained to deal with stuff like that. I've never taken care of a kid before." He then looked at Skye, "No offense. It's not like you're a toddler or anything."

Skye blinked a couple times, "Wait. You've never had a foster kid before?"

Phil shook his head, "No. I just finished the paperwork this week. Maria called me yesterday and asked if I could be ready for you today."

Skye looked over at Maria, "You didn't tell me that."

"I gave you his file, I thought you would have seen that."

"You gave her my file?"

"Yes, Phil, I did."

"Oh, so I'm the only one going into this completely blind?"

Skye sat down on the other side of the couch from Maria, "If it helps, all I looked at was your picture and your address. I also saw that you were in the military."

He nodded and gave her a smile that she couldn't read, then pushed himself out of the chair, "Alright. Why don't I show you around?"

Phil led them around the house, and up the stairs to an empty bedroom. Like the rest of the house, this room was sparsely decorated. The walls were white and there was a bed and a desk in the room. "I didn't think it would be right to try and decorate it. Not that I would have had time to anyway."

Phil smiled at Maria after saying this. Maria rolled her eyes, "Come on, Coulson. What did you want me to do? It was either this or she spent the next few days back at the orphanage."

Skye's eyes darted up at Coulson when she heard this, he was still looking at Maria with that smile that Skye couldn't decide what it meant. He softly chuckled, "Of course I wouldn't want that, I'm just yanking your chain."

Maria laughed and shook her head. She then looked down at her watch, "I think it's about time I get going. Are you okay with that Skye?"

"What, I don't get a vote?"

"Phil, be quiet."

Skye laughed, "I guess I'll be okay."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner?"

"Sorry, Phil, I can't. I'm expected at home."

Coulson nodded and smiled knowingly. The trio then headed back downstairs. Maria turned at the door and told Skye she would call the next day. They said their goodbyes and Coulson shut the door. He turned to look at Skye. The silence lasted for a few seconds before Coulson spoke, "Okay. So this is rough for you, I'm sure."

_Great way to start_, Skye thought, "I've been through it a few times."

Coulson nodded, "Well, this is my first time having a kid in my home, so there's going to be a bit of an adjustment period." Skye just pushed her hands into her pockets and nodded. Coulson began to walk toward the living room, "Why don't you sit down and tell me a bit about yourself? Unlike you, I didn't get a file to look over."

Skye breathed out a laugh and followed him into the next room. They resumed the spots they had each sat in earlier. "What do you want to know?"

"First off, I guess, do you like chicken alfredo?"

"Um, yeah?"

"Good. That's what I was planning to make for dinner." Coulson gave her a smile.

Skye smiled back at him. Maybe Maria was right; he seemed like a fun guy. "Alright, next question."

"Okay, how old are you?"

"Isn't there a rule about asking ladies their age?"

Coulson nodded and laughed, "I didn't realize it started this early."

"I'm sixteen" Skye responded.

"Do you have your license?"

"Nope."

This game continued for a while, Coulson asking questions about her hobbies and interests. He was just going after basic information. Skye was glad he didn't ask any questions that had any weight to them. Coulson checked the clock he had hanging over the fireplace, it was almost six by now. "I'm going to say this now, for future reference. If you want to bring friends over, when you're ready," he raised his hands up with this last part, "just give me more of a warning than Maria does."

Skye chuckled, "Whether I want him to or not, I'm sure Grant will be here in the next couple days."

"Grant? Boyfriend?"

Skye laughed out loud. "No, definitely not. I'm—" Skye stopped herself, "He's more of a brother to me."

Coulson seemed to catch her mistake but didn't bring it up. He stood up and began to walk away, "I'm going to start dinner. Make yourself at home, settle in, whatever." Skye stood up and Phil snapped his fingers, "I forgot to tell you. Your Vice Principal is going to be joining us for dinner."

"What?" Skye almost shouted, then covered her mouth, "Sorry. Why is she going to be here?"

"I believe she has something to say about your attendance not being necessary for a couple days. To help you adjust to your new living arrangements."

Skye stood, shocked. Coulson walked into the kitchen and allowed her time to process. She ran up the stairs into the room she was staying in. The bag she had carried in was lying on her bed and she fished her phone out of it. As she suspected, there was a text waiting from Grant.

**Ward:** Report?

Skye rolled her eyes. If it weren't for her, Grant Ward wouldn't use more than three words in a sentence. She had loosened him up over the years they had spent together. Her reply was longer than his question.

**Skye:** I'm here, I'm safe. He seems like a nice guy. Making chicken alfredo for dinner. VP will be joining us.

She only waited about fifteen seconds before getting a response.

**Ward:** WHAT?

**Skye:** I said the same thing. I guess she's coming to tell me that I don't have to go to school for a while.

**Ward:** What about your project with your gf?

Skye growled at the way Ward decided to mention Simmons. But she couldn't stay mad, because that hadn't even occurred to her.

**Skye:** Idk. I guess we'll see.

The conversation lasted until Skye heard a knock on the doorframe. She looked up from her phone to see Coulson, without his suit jacket this time and his sleeves rolled up, standing in the doorway. "Dinner will be ready in about five minutes."

Skye nodded and sent Ward a message saying she'd talk to him later. She walked to the bathroom that Coulson had shown her the location of earlier. Looking in the mirror, Skye ran her hand through her hair before washing her hands and splashing water on her face. The first meal was always tough, and very awkward. This time it had a bit of a twist, though.

Skye walked down stairs and into the dining room right as Coulson was putting plates on the table. He looked up and smiled at her in greeting. He offered her a seat and she sat down right as the doorbell rang. Skye's eyes widened enough for Coulson to notice. He patted her shoulder as he walked by her. From where she was sitting, Skye could hear what Coulson said as he opened the door. "Hi. Sorry about the change in plans."

The female response caused Skye's leg to suddenly become restless. Whenever she heard that voice, it meant she was in trouble. "It's alright. She needs a steady house to come back to. Why not yours?"

Coulson re-entered the dining room with the new guest. "Hello, Skye."

"Hello, Ms. May."

Ms. May sat down at the table after Coulson pulled out the chair for her. She thanked him, then looked over to Skye. "How are you settling in, Skye?"

"I haven't been here long, but it seems like a nice place."

"It is." Ms. May nodded, "I talked to the principal, and we have decided that we could give you some time to adjust. That being said, all your teachers have been informed that you will not be in class on Monday and Tuesday."

"Well, thanks. But, um…" Skye looked down, "see, there's a team project that I'm supposed to work on, and I don't want to leave my partner alone."

Ms. May nodded, "I'll make sure to let your partner know personally that you won't be there. Who do I need to tell?"

"Jemma Simmons."

"The new girl." May nodded, "Do you have her number? So you can contact her in case you want to work during your time off?"

"Um, no." Skye said quietly, then after a moment of thought, "But I can get my friend to get it for me."

May nodded again and then gave Coulson a small smile as he returned to the room. Skye was startled. She had never seen May smile before. The meal was filled with small talk and went by fairly quickly. Skye was impressed by Coulson's cooking skills, though. When they had all finished eating, Skye gathered the plates. She felt like she should do something to help out. After putting the plates in the sink, Skye went back to the dining room to find the other two. They had moved out of that room, and Skye assumed they moved into the living room. The living room was empty. Skye was confused as she continued looking around. She got to the entryway of the house and saw Coulson and May entwined in a hug. They pulled apart and Coulson placed a kiss on May's cheek. Skye almost gasped, but clasped a hand across her mouth before turning to leave them alone. "Goodbye, Skye. I'll see you Wednesday."

May's farewell was quiet enough that Skye knew that she had been seen. She stuck her head back around the corner with a red face and waved back at May. "See you Wednesday."

Both Coulson and May's faces were blank as Skye retreated back upstairs. Her laptop was her first target. After breaking into Coulson's protected Wi-Fi, she spent some time browsing the Internet. It occurred to her, that she still needed Simmons' number. She grabbed her phone and texted Ward.

**Skye:** Could you give Simmons my number Monday? I'll need to talk to her about our project.

Skye waited for almost an hour for a response. Nothing. She got sucked into what she now found on her screen and didn't even notice the passage of time. Not until Coulson knocked on her door and brought her out of her daze. He gave her one of his patented tight-lipped smiles. "It's getting late, so I'm going to bed. You can stay up however long you want, just keep it down."

Skye checked the time on her laptop. It was almost eleven. She suddenly felt the exhaustion wash over her. It had been a grueling day. Her eyes suddenly felt heavy, and she rubbed them. "I think I'm going to hit the hay too."

"Alright, then, I'll see you in the morning. Good night."

"Good night."

Skye put her laptop on the desk in the room and changed into her pajamas. As she pulled the covers down on the bed, her phone rang. She picked it up, confused, and checked the caller id before she answered. "Ward? You do realize what time it is, right?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to check in."

"You could have just texted."

"Nah. So how'd dinner with The Calvary go?"

Skye wasn't sure how that secret got out. Apparently during her time in the military, which scared Skye to think that her Vice Principal probably could kill her with her pinkie, May earned the nickname. No one knew how she got it, but everyone knew that she hated it. "You should probably keep your voice down. Even if she's back at her house, she can probably still hear you."

Ward laughed lightly, "So it went okay?"

"I actually talked to Ms. May and never got in trouble, so yeah."

"Alright. Well, tell this guy to expect me after practice on Monday."

Skye smiled, "I'll make sure he knows."

The two said their goodbyes for the second time that day. As Skye hung up the phone, she realized she should have asked Ward if he got her text earlier. She cursed herself and climbed into bed. Her eyes closed as her head hit the pillow. She tossed and turned for a few minutes before the light from her phone cut past her eyelids. A groan escaped her lips as she silently cursed Ward. Grabbing the phone, she noticed the text came from an unknown number. Skye opened the message, curious.

**?:** Hello, Skye. This is Jemma Simmons. I apologize for messaging so late, but Ward said you were in need of my number for our project."

Skye beamed. Ward was on top of his game today. She quickly saved the number and typed back a message.

**Skye:** It's cool. I'm glad Ward got ahold of you. I'll talk to you about it all later.

**Jemma:** All right. I shall talk to you soon. Good night Skye.

**Skye:** Good night Jemma.

Skye couldn't pull the smile off her face. Jemma texted her! As her eyes shut, all she could see was Jemma's smile. It kept the soft smile on Skye's face as she faded into sleep. Into a dream filled with sunshine, picnics, and Jemma.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Do You Got Room For One More Troubled Soul?**

The sun was beating down overhead and Skye was doing her best to avoid the heat by leaning up against the trunk of a tree. She was sitting on her blanket looking down at her phone. Thankfully the tree's leaves were blocking out enough of the sun that the screen was not giving off a glare. Skye's greatest virtue has never been patience. Not seeing what she wanted to on her phone, she directed her attention to the lake off to the side. _This is a freaking cliché._ Skye rolled her eyes at her own situation. _Here I am, waiting under a tree next to a lake for—. _Her train of thought was interrupted by arms being thrown around her neck and lips pressed against hers.

The surprise Skye felt quickly faded away, as the kiss felt normal and natural, and soft. She closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss right as the other person began to pull away. Skye felt the space between her and the other person grow and opened her eyes to see a beaming smile. "Hello, Skye. Sorry I'm late."

The British accent and bright smile left Skye with a dopey grin, the kiss had a lot to do with that as well. The sun shone down across Simmons' hair, giving it an orange tint that Skye found mesmerizingly beautiful. Simmons ran her hand through Skye's hair as she sat next to her, "Darling? What are you thinking about?"

"Hm?" Skye was lost in Simmons' honey eyes, "Nothing. Just looking at you."

Simmons skin became tinted pink. "Well, how about you close your eyes?"

Skye followed Simmons' suggestion and felt a hand on her neck, pulling her. Their lips met again and tentatively searched each other. Skye couldn't help but take a deep breath in through her nose, inhaling Simmons' scent. There was that lilac smell from her hair again, and something else. What was that smell? Maple? And was that butter? Simmons smells like pancakes?

Skye faded back into reality. Her eyes fluttered open to see the white walls of her room in Coulson's house. She heard the door start to slowly swing open. Coulson was standing in the door with a plate full of, of course, pancakes. He was once again dressed in a full suit and had a small smile on his lips. "Oh, you're awake. I didn't wake you, did I?"

Skye just shook her head and began to sit up. Coulson sat the plate on the desk, next to Skye's laptop. He turned to her, "Something came up at the office and I have to go in. I just wanted to come in here and let you know." He gestured to the meal on the desk, "And bring you breakfast."

"Thanks." Skye pulled the covers off herself and stood up.

She moved over to the desk and sat down to eat. Coulson stood for a moment before speaking up again, "I was thinking maybe you could come with me to the office. This problem should only take a little bit to fix, and then we could go out and get to know each other some more."

Skye was chewing the pancakes, which she found delicious, as she considered the offer. She was used to foster parents trying to force her into spending time with the family, but Coulson sounded more like he was asking. _What the heck,_ She thought as she put the fork down. "Sure. Why not?"

Coulson's smile grew; it was no longer unreadable to Skye, just barely readable. He seemed relieved and even somewhat happy about her response. Skye was willing to give this guy a fair shot as a foster parent, and the fact that he seemed to cook so well gave her even more of a reason to do so. Coulson took the few steps back into the hallway, "I'll let you eat in peace. Whenever you're finished getting ready come down and we'll head out."

Skye nodded as she continued eating. As she did this she opened her laptop to see if she could find anything interesting. To start, she jumped to her Facebook page. She was surprised to find a friend request waiting for her. Clicking on it, she was left scratching her head. Apparently, one Leo Fitz wanted to be friends with Skye. Skye tried to not feel disappointed that her screen didn't read "Jemma Simmons" instead.

She accepted Fitz's friend request. Next, as she pushed the remaining amount of pancakes into her mouth, she browsed Fitz's profile. Nothing too overly interesting, though it seemed that ninety percent of Fitz's statuses tagged Simmons as well. Skye was beginning to think that those two were actually attached at the hip.

The time at the corner of her screen told Skye that she had been sitting with an empty plate for almost ten minutes. It was time for her to actually get ready and dressed for the day. That process took another half hour. Skye hurriedly threw her dirty clothes onto the bed and grabbed her plate to take down to the kitchen. When she got into the kitchen, Coulson was reading the newspaper. He was completely entranced by whatever was in front of him. Skye figured it was some local story; that is, until he tried to cover a giggle. Coulson was reading the comics section. She suppressed a smile as she placed her plate in the sink and turned toward him. He smiled at her and stood up, "Ready to go?"

Skye nodded, "If you want to finish what you were reading, it's cool. I wouldn't want you to miss what that crazy dog Marmaduke is doing this week."

Coulson folded the newspaper with a smile. Standing from the table, he brushed his hands down his jacket to straighten it out. "Let's go, Skye."

Skye grinned at him and followed his lead to the garage. Coulson hit the button on his keys and the lights on the SUV flashed. He climbed into the drivers seat as Skye did the same on the other side of the car. She settled in and threw her seatbelt over her shoulder. The car was backed out of the driveway and as they turned onto the road Coulson reached for the radio. As he clicked the power button, classical music began to flow out of the speakers. _I should've guessed_. Skye thought to herself as she closed her eyes and fought the urge to roll them. "You can turn it to whatever you want."

The tone of Coulson's voice made it seem that he had read her mind and wasn't just being friendly. The way the corners of his mouth had twitched upwards when Skye looked at him backed that thought up. She reached for the tuner, quickly flipping between stations until she found a song she enjoyed. Her eyes closed as she began humming the tune to herself. Humming soon became quietly singing, which became even louder until she was singing just over the volume of the speakers.

Skye loved the lyrics to this song, but she wasn't thinking too much about it as she belted out the short phrases. She was in her own world, singing about lost souls and the oxymoronic idea of being alone together. Her world came falling down as she felt the car stop and heard the engine quiet down. The words stopped coming from her lips just after they stopped coming from the speakers. "You have a great singing voice."

Coulson smiled at her after saying this and stepped out of the SUV. Skye felt the heat hit her neck and tried to keep it off her cheeks. She climbed out of her seat and followed Coulson into the building.

Coulson was greeted at the front desk while Skye just followed silently. This earned her a questioning look from the receptionist, but no one said anything. Skye looked around as Coulson led her towards his office. The room had a multitude of comfortable looking seats surrounding large desks. The desks were well spaced from each other and were all made of a dark wood. The tan carpet that covered the floor ran all the way to the white walls that were occasionally holding pictures of cars, all of them at least twenty years old.

After following Coulson into his office, Skye became aware that there were two people waiting for him inside. Coulson held the door for her and she ducked her head as she entered the room. The two men in the room stood as Coulson entered. "Hello Bruce, how are you?"

"I'm doing pretty well, Phil."

The answer to Coulson's question came from a voice familiar to Skye. She looked up quickly at him. The shaggy-haired man pushed his glasses back up his nose and looked over at Skye. A small smile graced his lips. "Well hello Skye. I didn't expect to see you here. How are you?"

"Hey Mr. Banner. I'm good."

"Missing my class yet?" Banner had a bigger smile than before.

Skye smiled back at him and laughed. She hated chemistry, and didn't get a great grade in there, but Mr. Banner had made the class bearable. He was an entertaining teacher. "I'm definitely not missing the periodic table. I am kind of missing nearly blowing the class up."

Banner laughed at her, "Well I don't blame you there. That's why I started. Though I have a student in my advanced class this year that I think could find a way to teach you the periodic table, and you might even enjoy it."

Skye laughed out loud, "I'm not sure about that."

"I don't know. Miss Simmons has quite a way with chemistry. "

"Simmons?" Skye choked out.

"Yes, Jemma Simmons. Do you know her?"

"Yeah. We're," Skye paused for a moment, "We're friends."

"Well then, maybe she can convince you to actually focus." Banner laughed.

Skye smiled at him. It was then when Coulson decided to interrupt, "It's good to see you Bruce, but I don't believe I know your friend here."

Coulson was gesturing to the tall blonde man standing, smiling, next to Banner. "Oh, I'm sorry. This is Donald Blake. Donald this is my Agent, Coulson."

Blake shot Coulson a big smile and stuck out his hand, "Hello, Son of Coul."

Coulson smiled at the teasing glint in the larger man's eyes, "Hello Mr. Blake. What brings you here today?"

Coulson sat behind his desk and motioned to the chairs on the other side for the two guests to return to their seats. Skye sat in a chair off to the side and leaned back into it. The conversation turned to a discussion about a car Blake owned, a 1967 Shelby Mustang. The picture that Blake showed was of a dark blue car with a bright white stripe down each side. The stripe was bent at points so that it resembled a lightning bolt. Coulson seemed in awe, "She looks like pure muscle."

Skye looked at the car's owner. _So does he._ She shook her head as Blake ran his hand through his long blonde hair, which caused the muscles in his arm to ripple. "She is quite powerful."

The two of them continued to talk about the car, and then about the cost of insuring it, for a while longer. Banner just watched in amusement, while Skye zoned out into her own world. After the conversation died down and it was decided what Blake was going to do with his car, Blake and Banner shook hands with Coulson and left. Skye felt the need to break the silence between the two people left in the room, "So, Agent Coulson, is it?"

Coulson rolled his eyes and smiled, "Not really. I am an insurance agent technically, but I don't think anyone actually calls me that."

"Well, I think I will. How about it AC?"

Coulson let out a short laugh and shook his head, "Let's go."

The pair walked back through the building and left the way they had came. Coulson drove to the large strip mall on the other side of town. Skye had been here once before, with the Wards, but hadn't spent much time looking around. Her and Coulson wandered the different stores without a real purpose for a long time. They passed the time holding conversations over the contents of whatever store caught their eyes. It wasn't until they passed a music store that either of them really stopped and looked at what was inside.

Skye froze in her tracks and looked through the window at all the instruments inside. Coulson stopped behind her and put a hand on her shoulder, "Do you play anything?"

Skye shook her head slowly, "Never had the chance. You?"

"Not in years."

"What about that big, um, cello?"

Coulson let a small smile reach his lips, but his eyes were empty. "It's not mine."

Before Skye could ask what that meant, Coulson was walking into the store. Skye followed him in. He began perusing the stock of the store with Skye on his heels. Coulson ran his fingers over the strings of a guitar and Skye copied him. She held her hand over the edge of the guitar's body, listening to the ringing of the strings. Her eyes had closed of their own accord, and when she opened them back up Coulson was smiling at her. "What?"

"You like it?"

"Yeah."

Skye was looking at the light stained wood of the guitar, watching the light reflect off it, when it was pulled off its hook. She looked over to Coulson holding the instrument and walking towards the cases for sale. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for a case for the guitar."

"Why?"

"Well you can't just carry it around without protection. You don't want to break it."

Skye had foster parents buy her stuff to try and get on her good side before, but this was a lot of money. "You don't have to get it for me. It's no big deal."

"Well, if you end up not using it, then I'll take it."

Coulson shot her another small smile as he grabbed a case he had been looking at and walked toward the register. Skye ran behind him and clenched her fists when the total came up. That was a lot more than she felt someone she just met should spend on her. "You didn't have to do that."

They had returned to the vehicle and were sitting in the parking lot. "I know. But I was serious. If you don't play it, I will. I've been meaning to get back into music."

"Why'd you stop?"

Coulson's face hardened and Skye could see his grip on the steering wheel tighten. She immediately regretted asking the question. "I'm sorry. Forget I asked."

Coulson's grip loosened again and he took a deep breath. As he pulled out of the parking lot it looked like he was going to speak again, but was interrupted by his phone ringing. He reached into the breast pocket of his jacket and checked the screen. "Hello Maria." He said as he put the phone up to his ear.

Skye's head whipped over to look at him. _What's she calling about?_ She heard the voice on the other end of the line mumbling. Her legs started to shake involuntarily. The worry was building in her chest. Coulson sounded happy when he said "Of course!"

Coulson hung up the phone and glanced over at Skye. He smiled, "It looks like Maria will be joining us for dinner tomorrow night."

Skye's chest immediately lightened and she took a deep breath. Then she remembered something. "Grant said he wanted to stop by tomorrow after football practice."

Coulson nodded, "He can join us as well, if he wants."

Skye nodded and pulled out her phone to text Ward. She paused and looked up at Coulson. "Um, thank you; for the guitar. I didn't tell you that earlier."

He smiled back at her. "You're welcome."

The ride back to Coulson's was quiet from then on. They ran through a drive-thru on the way. When they arrived back at the house, Skye grabbed the guitar out of the backseat and took it upstairs. She grabbed her laptop and began looking up guitar tutorials online. If Coulson was willing to spend the money to get her that guitar, she was going to at least try to get good with it. And that's what she spent the next few hours doing. She felt like she had made a little progress by nine o'clock, but she also felt like her fingers were about start bleeding. The interruption that she felt she needed as a reason to stop came in the form of her phone vibrating on the desk. Checking the screen, Skye smiled and quickly unlocked the phone.

**Jemma:** Hello Skye. I was wondering if you could help me with a computer problem I am having. I would normally have Fitz fix it, but he has no idea what is going on.

Skye grinned. Simmons was coming to her for help. This she could work with. The best part was, she could read over her message to make sure she wasn't making herself look like an idiot. It was perfect!

**Skye:** Yeah. I can take a look at it.

The response was almost immediate.

**Jemma:** Thank you Skye! If it's okay with you, I'll bring my laptop to school tomorrow for you to look at.

Skye's heart, which had been beating at a hundred miles an hour, dropped. Not being at school tomorrow, how could she help Jemma? She wouldn't even see Jemma tomorrow! That thought hit her harder than she figured it would.

**Skye:** Actually. I'm not going to be at school tomorrow.

The wait for the return message felt like it took hours, but as Skye kept checking the time it was only a matter of minutes. Skye jumped at the vibration of the phone.

**Jemma:** Oh well. I guess I could wait.

**Skye:** Or you could bring it over after school.

_Oh, crap!_ Skye had not thought about the message she was typing before she sent it. It wasn't until the message had already been sent that she realized what she had said.

**Jemma:** That could work.

Skye actually squealed. She jumped up from the bed and did a small dance. As she sat back down, she became embarrassed at her actions. She took a deep breath to steady her heart.

**Skye:** That sounds good.

**Jemma:** All right. Just give me your address or something and I'll be there right after school.

_Oh crap, again!_ Simmons didn't know Skye was a foster kid. This would have to be explained, and then it just makes it awkward for everybody. Skye quickly thought about just calling it off and shut her eyes and groaned. As she shut her eyes she thought she saw Simmons' face on the inside of her eyelids. She stood up and walked down the stairs. "Hey, AC!"

Skye wandered around the house, trying to find the man. She looked through the living room, dining room, and kitchen before she heard a noise from the garage. She opened the door connecting the kitchen to the garage.

Coulson had his sleeves rolled up and his tie loosened as he bent over to pick up the wrench he had dropped. He looked up at her as she entered the garage. Skye walked over to where he was and looked over to the bright red car that had an open hood. "What's going on Skye?"

"I was just wondering what the address for here is. A friend has computer issues and she wants me to take a look tomorrow after school." Skye looked, "What are you up to?"

Coulson smiled, "Lola needed a tune up."

"Lola?" Skye smiled back at him.

"1962 Chevrolet Corvette. Her name is Lola."

"Okay then." Skye laughed at him.

Coulson leaned back into the car, "So who's this friend that's coming over?"

"Jemma Simmons."

"The one Banner mentioned this morning?"

"Yeah, that's her."

"If you don't mind my asking, what's going on between you two?"

"What do you mean?"

"Is there like a, um, relationship there?"

Skye's cheek turned the same color as Lola; thankful that Coulson's head was under the hood. She cleared her throat and tried to level her voice, "Why would you ask that?"

"I saw your reaction when Banner brought her up." Coulson stood up and put on a smile, "Plus, how you stumbled over your words when I asked if Grant was your boyfriend. I was trained to find terrorists, remember?"

Skye's blush was still hanging on her face and she was sure Coulson could tell. He smiled at her as he wiped his hands. The hood of the car was put down and he walked back toward the house. Skye followed and muttered, "Um, no. There's no 'relationship' there."

Coulson smiled at her and nodded. He washed his hands then patted her on the shoulder. Skye shot him a questioning glance, "What's that for?"

"Good luck with her. I'm sure it'll work out for you."

Skye tried to mutter a response but couldn't seem to form a sentence. Coulson just flashed a knowing smile and handed her a post-it note. He wished her a good night and walked upstairs. She looked down at the note he had handed her. It was the address of the house, which she promptly sent in a message to Simmons. Simmons responded with a thank you, and Skye went to bed with a smile on her face.

She didn't awaken the next day until almost one; the early afternoon sun was being cut off occasionally by small clouds passing overhead. Skye rolled over and grabbed her phone to check the time. Being satisfied with the amount of sleep she had gotten, she climbed out of bed and walked down to the kitchen. When she got there she found a note from Coulson. The note said that he should be getting off work early and expected to be home around two. Skye figured that meant now was as good a time as any to get a shower and get dressed for the day.

By the time she had gotten cleaned up and dressed, she heard the garage door open. Walking down the stairs, she found Coulson laying his briefcase on the table. "'Sup AC?"

He laughed, "Are you actually going to call me that?"

"Pretty much. I like it."

"Fine. I guess I can't do anything to stop you."

"So what's the plan for today?"

"I have some paperwork I have to finish up, and then Maria is coming to dinner. And your friend too; Grant, right?"

Skye nodded and smiled, "So, that leaves me with nothing. I'm going to check out what's on TV."

Coulson added an "okay" and sat down at the table to do his work. Skye plopped down onto the couch in the living room with the remote and clicked through the channels. Stopping on a repeat of one of her favorite crime dramas, she whistled along with the theme and lay there to enjoy it.

As the episode neared its conclusion, the doorbell rang. Skye heard Coulson walk through the kitchen to receive the visitor. After a few seconds, Coulson called her name. She hopped up from the couch and walked to the door. "What's up AC?"

As she said this, she turned to see Jemma Simmons standing in the doorway with her backpack tightly around her shoulders. Skye froze momentarily. Simmons smiled and waved at her. Skye waved back and rocked on her heels. "Hello Skye. Is it a bad time?"

"No." Skye said, too quickly for her own liking, "It's cool."

Coulson grinned at Skye and looked back to Simmons, "Well, Miss Simmons, come on in. I'll leave you two to it. If you need anything, I'll be in my study."

Simmons thanked him and walked in towards Skye. Skye ran her hand through her hair and looked down for a moment. "So, how about we go up to my room and I'll take a look at your computer."

The other girl smiled at Skye and nodded. They went up the stairs and Skye led Simmons into her room. Skye took a seat at the desk and nodded her head towards the bed for Simmons to sit down. Simmons sat down and pulled her laptop out of her bag. "I don't know what's wrong with it. The Internet keeps shutting down on me and it's just being generally slow."

"Alright, give me a couple minutes and I'll see what I can do." Skye started flipping through the computers details after admiring Simmons' desktop background, a hand-drawn picture of what appeared to be an atom. "So why did you think I could fix this?"

Simmons adjusted her position on the bed, "I gave it to Fitz, but he couldn't figure it out, so I texted Ward to ask if he knew anywhere in town that I could get it looked at, and he said you were the best with computers in town."

Skye smirked. She felt the pride well in her chest at being called the best. Though she's sure it also had nothing to do with Ward talking her up to Simmons. Thinking of the girl sitting in her room, she quietly spoke, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot." Skye said as she glanced up at Simmons with a smile.

"Why do you call your father AC, was it?"

Skye's fingers froze on the keyboard, every muscle in her body seemed to tense. Simmons seemed to notice the change and became flushed. "I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable. You don't have to answer. I'm sorry."

Skye flexed her fingers. "No, it's fine. It's just that, um, he's not actually my dad. I'm actually, um, a foster kid."

Simmons' eyes widened, but she blinked and tried to hide her reaction. That tactic wasn't helped by the small "Oh" she uttered. Skye looked up at her, "It's not a big deal. I get moved around some, and I spend a lot of nights at Ward's house."

Simmons just nodded, obviously feeling awkward about the whole situation. "I'm sorry I asked. I didn't know."

"It's cool. How could you have?" Skye tried to shrug off the vile thoughts entering the back of her mind. She also tried to shake off her own embarrassment at the admission. Simmons wouldn't think less of her for this, would she?

"So how long have you been here? If you don't mind my asking."

"Um, since Saturday."

Simmons barely kept herself from gasping. Skye could see the surprise on her face. Skye quickly placed her eyes back on the computer screen and silence filled the room. It was only a matter of minutes before Skye figured out, and fixed the problem on Simmons' computer. She gave herself a smile in the reflection on the screen, happy with her performance. "Did you figure out what was wrong?"

Simmons' voice ended Skye's little self-celebration. She looked up at the British girl for the first time since she revealed her secret. "Yeah. It should be all good now."

Skye handed the computer back to Simmons and the other girl grinned as she received it. "Thank you so much, Skye! I can pay you for the trouble."

"No, no. You don't have to pay me. It was no trouble. I really like computers, and I'm good with them so it's no problem. Plus, you are cu—" Whoops. That could have been bad. "A friend. You definitely don't have to pay."

Simmons didn't seem to catch her slip of the tongue. _Good going Skye. You ramble on and on, and then almost blurt out that you think she's cute._ Skye offered a tentative smile and Simmons returned with a beaming one. There was a brief moment of just the two of them smiling at each other, Skye's smile growing with every passing second, until Simmons' phone went off. Skye's heart immediately fluttered thinking about how cute it was that Jemma had the _Bill Nye the Science Guy_ theme as her text tone. Simmons glanced down quickly, "Shoot. I have to go meet up with Fitz. I forgot. Sorry."

"It's okay. I think Coulson has to start getting things ready for dinner soon anyway. I'll walk you out."

The pair walked down the stairs together and reached the door. Skye opened it up and Simmons thanked her as she walked through. Simmons turned around just outside the door. "I guess I shall see you at school then?"

"Not until Wednesday. Ms. May said I could take a couple days off to adjust to the new place."

"Oh. Well then, I will see you then." Simmons finished with another smile.

"Yeah." Skye was smiling now, "I'll see you then, Simmons."

Jemma crinkled her nose. Skye thought it looked cute, but also realized it meant something was wrong. "What's up? You look like you just smelled something pretty rank."

"Oh, it's nothing." Simmons waved her hand out, "I had just gotten used to you calling me Jemma."

_Oh._ "Well, in that case, I will see you Wednesday, Jemma." Skye made sure to accentuate the girl's name.

That earned her a smile. "Wednesday, it is. Good bye, Skye."

Skye watched for a moment as Jemma walked away, then shut the door. She leaned up against the door and took a deep breath. The smile on her face refused to fade any as she heard Coulson walk down the stairs. "Maria will be here in a little over an hour for dinner."

Skye looked at the clock on the wall, it was about four. "Okay, Grant will probably be a little behind that. He gets out of practice at about five."

Coulson nodded and walked back in the direction of the kitchen. Skye returned to the couch and turned the TV back on. There was another episode of her show on and she got sucked in, even though she had already seen the episode twice. The callbacks to the star actor's last show kept bringing a smile to her face. It didn't feel like an hour had passed by the time the episode ended, but Skye stood up and turned the TV off all the same. She could hear Coulson moving around in the kitchen, and went to go upstairs. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard the doorbell ring. Turning towards the door, she called to Coulson that she would get it. When Skye reached the door, she opened it up to see Maria standing on the other side. "Hello Skye. How are you?"

"I'm pretty good, Maria. How're you?"

"I'm fantastic." Maria had a smile on her face that was bigger than any Skye had ever seen.

"What has you in such a good mood?"

"I had a very, very good weekend." Maria walked past Skye and put a hand on her shoulder.

The glint of light from Maria's hand was unmistakable. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop right there Maria Hill!"

Maria stopped and looked at Skye, she still had a slight smile but there was a look of confusion as well. Skye grabbed Maria's hand and pulled it up in front of her face. "What is this doing here?"

Maria's huge grin broke out again as Skye admired the diamond ring on her finger. Coulson walked up behind Maria and looked over her shoulder. Maria smiled at Skye, "I'm engaged."

Skye's jaw dropped. She looked first at Maria then to Coulson, who had a small smile on his face, and then back to Maria. "I didn't even know you were with somebody."

"We've been dating since just after high school, but we never had the chance to actually do anything like this until now."

Coulson stepped up behind Maria and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "Congratulations, Maria."

"So," Skye was excited now, "When's the wedding? Am I invited? Who's the lucky fella?"

"We don't have a date set. Yes, you're invited. And _her_ name is Natasha."

Skye went from jumping up and down with excitement, to frozen in place. "Natasha?"

"Yes, Skye, I'm engaged to my girlfriend, well now fiancée, Natasha."

"Wow. I didn't know that you were…"

Skye trailed off and then hugged Maria tightly. Maria hugged her back and patted her head. Coulson had a hand on both their shoulders. When Skye pulled away she smiled up at Maria, "Congrats. I'm happy for you."

"Thank you, Skye."

Coulson looked over to Maria, "So when did she ask?"

"Saturday. That's why I couldn't stay for dinner. She apparently had this planned out."

Coulson just smiled and nodded at her. A flash of understanding jumped across Maria's face. Her jaw dropped. "You knew about this, didn't you?" Maria almost shrieked at Coulson. "Phil! You knew she was planning this!"

Coulson held his hands up in mock surrender. "I knew she was going to ask, I just didn't know when."

Maria looked as if she was going to strangle him, but hugged him instead. Skye just stood to the side, smiling. Then they heard the doorbell ringing. Skye skipped to the door and opened it up. Grant was standing on the porch, waiting. He smiled when he saw Skye. "Hey there, shorty."

"Grant!" Skye grabbed his wrist and dragged him into the living room, where Coulson and Maria had sat down, "Maria's engaged!"

Grant's eyes widened, "Really now?"

"Don't look so surprised, Mr. Ward." Maria shot him a warning look.

"Who's taking the plunge with you?"

Skye answered for Maria, "Her girlfriend, Natasha."

Grant's eyebrows rose, "Well then, congratulations."

Grant squeezed Skye's hand and looked down at her. The look in his eyes was a look of expectation. She cocked an eyebrow at him. Ward leaned down and whispered into her ear, "I expect to be best man when this happens to you."

Skye blushed with the thought of getting married. Well, now she knew what was going to be going through her head when she lay down to sleep tonight. She also thought she knew who would be standing across from her in that dream. That thought, and the possibility of it being affirmed by Maria's situation, brought a bright smile to Skye's face. She bit her lip to keep her face from stretching too much, and joined everyone to celebrate at dinner.


End file.
